Treatment for Collapsed Lung???

[WarrenJ]

My 80-year-old mother was admitted to a regional heart center for a pacemaker install on June 19th. In post op they determined she had her left lung collapsed.

Can any one tell me what the normal post op care and what should be going on for my mother?

Here is what they have done for the last week in order of activity.

She was in the hospital at 7am scheduled for surgery at 9am on the 19th.  She was sedated and went to surgery and then the hospital bumped her twice for other patients. She sat in pre-op until 2:30 that afternoon in a semi drugged state.

Pace maker installed and place in the Telemetry Unit on IV solution of chloride and a heart-monitoring machine at around 3:45pm on the 19th.

Had her on a monitor that showed temperature, oxygen level, pulse and heart rates for one day and then they took it off so she has no heart monitoring other than a nurse once and a while.

Lowered her blood pressure with drugs to about 130/80 the last we saw before the monitor came off.

On June 20th, distress over night indicated something wrong, as she could not stand without fainting so they did an x-ray and found total collapse of left lung.

Inserted, in her room, a chest tube and suction under her left arm to re-inflate lung.

We asked about fluid intake and discharge and then they decided they should hook her up to a tube for discharge.

They have been doing a morning chest x-ray to see if they can take out the tube but each x-ray shows that the lung is not staying inflated so they let her sit another day.

Tuesday (6-24) morning

[nik the nipper]

I have suffered from collapsed lungs for the past 5 years. I know british medince is different to that in the states but the doctors in the UK did an operation to which they stuck the front of both my lungs to my chest wall. Each lung was done a year apart from each other and what this meant was that my lung had a better chance of reinflating by itself and also lowers the chances that i will suffer from it again.

[National Jewish]

Collapse of the lung, also called pneumothorax, can occur following surgery.  The most common treatment is the chest tube and suction to re-inflate the lung over time.  This can be a slow process.  If the remaining 30% of your mother

[Concerned lady]

I urge you to speak with a LUNG LINE nurse, by calling the LUNG LINE, at 1-800-222-LUNG(5864), Mon-Fri, between 8am & 4:30pm, Colorado time, to discuss your mother's situation with a knowledgable nurse!

If your mother is a "fighter", and if she is capable of having a decent quality of life, you may need to aggressively pursue getting some better medical help for her. A LUNG LINE nurse could advise you more about this!

I wish you the best.

Sincerely, Concerned lady
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