Although there are multiple pharmacologic and nonpharmacological options to alleviate symptoms of emphysema, none of these treatment modalities halts disease progression. The expanding disease burden has led to development of…
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a challenging disease to treat, and at advanced stages of the disease, procedural interventions become some of the only effective methods for improving quality of…
Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) improves exercise capacity, lung function, and quality of life in patients with heterogenous emphysema on computed tomographic and perfusion…
Endobronchial valve therapy has evolved over the past decade, with demonstration of significant improvements in pulmonary function, 6-minute walk distance, and quality of life in patients with end-stage chronic obstructive…
Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) patient selection guidelines are based on the National Emphysema Treatment Trial. Because of increased mortality and poor improvement in functional outcomes, patients with non–upper lobe…
Postoperative air leak is one of the most common complications after pulmonary resection and contributes to postoperative pain, complications, and increased hospital length of stay. Several risk factors, including both…
Chronic obstructive pulmonary usually is subcategorized into 2 groups: chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The main cause of chronic bronchitis and emphysema is smoking; however, alpha1-antitrypsin also has been seen to…
Lung volume reduction surgery can significantly improve quality of life for properly selected patients who are symptomatic despite maximal medical management for emphysema. This requires a well-constructed multidisciplinary team (including…
As palliative treatment, lung volume reduction surgery can be offered to a selected subset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Careful adherence to established inclusion and exclusion criteria is critical…
Publication of the National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) in 2003 established lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) as a viable treatment of select patients with moderate to severe emphysema, and the…
