PULMONARY EDEMA

  My uncle just recently had open heart surgery.  I really
  don't know the medical details, but do know that approx.
  3 wks after going home from the hospital, he was re-
  admitted with his lungs full of fluid. He stayed about
  a week and was sent back home again.  Now 2 wks later
  he has been readmitted for the same thing, but one of
  his lungs has collapsed.  He is probably in one of
  the better hosptals in the country (St. Thomas).
  as far as heart conditions go, but I would like to
  know what all of this is leading to.  Can he over-
  come this illness?
  He is 60 yrs old and never really been sick with
  much of anything until all of this occurred.  He
  has a very successful and demanding business.  He
  is very active in every way.  He is a small man,
  about 5' 8"  or so in height and weighs about 150 lbs.
  He does have a type A personality.
  If you can shed a little light on this I would appre-
  ciate it.

[CCF CARDIO MD APS]

Dear Tandy,
Without any knowledge of the case except what you state, I will try to give you
some likely scenarios, however it would be best if someone simply ask your uncles'doctors
what they think is going on and what the plan is to deal with it.
The lungs can fill up from the inside (back up of blood from a failing left ventricle, pumping chamber of the heart.)
But after surgery it is sometimes a problem that the lungs fill up with fluid from the outside, that is, fluid develops
in the chest cavity in reaction to the surgery (called an effusion) and in taking up space that the lung normally occupies
it crowds the lungs, does not allow for their normal expansion, causes significant shortness of breath, and can even lead to
lung collapse (although this is more likely to occur from the procedure whereby the fluid is removed.)
If it is an effusion build up problem, ask his doctors if they have tested the fluid for anything that might help
them prevent it from occurring continually.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general
purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to
write back with additional questions. Good luck.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call
1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at
www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that
can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.