ARDS

My mother who is 68 has been on a ventillator for 10 weeks now after abdominal surgery.The doctor has been unsucessful in wheaning her off the ventillator.The ventillator has been set to "assist" most of this time.We were told she has developed "ARDS".What is this and can someone recover from this?

[National Jewish]

Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a condition where the lung fills with fluid and is not able to maintain the most helpful levels of oxygen, the gas needed by all cells in the body, and carbon dioxide, the waste gas.  This condition is caused by injury to the lung.

There is no specific treatment for ARDS.  The focus is to support the person by watching for other health problems and treating them as soon as possible.  It is possible to recover from ARDS.  This depends greatly on the strength of the person

[Ellis7]

See: http://www.pulmonologychannel.com/ards/
Excerpts:
"Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is sudden, life-threatening lung failure. ARDS inflames the alveoli, causing them to fill with liquid and collapse.
..............
ARDS usually occurs within 24 to 48 hours of the injury or illness. The duration and intensity of the crisis can vary considerably from patient to patient. The mortality rate of ARDS is estimated to be between 35% and 50%. Most patients die from the underlying disease or from complications of mechanical ventilation. In patients who survive, normal lung function usually resumes within 6 to 12 months. "

[punch]

I got ARDS after emergency abdominal surgery[ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm] and was on a ventilator for 18 days. Doctor said that I did not respond to any things he tried, so went to massive dose of methylprednisone, and ARDS was clinically absent after 12 days, but could not wean me from ventilator for another 6  days. On the 4th day after the AAA op, I was opewrated on for gangrene in colon, resulting in a colostomy.
It is amazing how one can beat the odds.