What Causes Lung Diseases?
With every breath, we take in the oxygen our respiratory system needs to function. With each breath, the lungs are also exposed to viruses, bacteria and allergens that can pose a danger to them.
Breathing in chemicals that can damage the lungs, whether because of occupational or living conditions, is a serious health problem. Smoking and exposure to the smoke of smokers is the biggest cause of lung cancer. Genetic factors play an important role in many lung diseases.
What Are the Symptoms of Surgical Lung Diseases?
– Shortness of breath
– Persistent cough lasting longer than a normal cold
– Coughing up blood or blood in the sputum
– Insidious pain in the chest cage
– Sudden-onset side pain, which may come with shortness of breath
– Weight loss and fever of unknown cause
– Hoarseness
Stages of Deciding on Surgery in Lung Diseases
Lung surgeries differ from other operations. The reason is that the lungs must continue to breathe during the operation. This requirement makes certain technological provisions necessary for both anesthesia and surgery. The fact that modern lung surgery has only been performed since the 1950s, and that the heart and the great vessels lie in the operative field, make these operations technically more demanding.
The decision for surgery that has been made for you at this stage was taken by joint consensus of the physicians in the relevant departments.
How Are Lung Surgeries Performed?
Lung surgery begins with entering through the chest wall in order to reach the lungs or the target area. Endoscopic (closed) operations are VATS (video-assisted thoracic surgery), mediastinotomy and mediastinoscopy. These are closed operations performed by inserting a camera and special instruments through small openings made in the chest cage, without large incisions. Thoracotomy is an open technique that requires a larger incision in the chest cage. This opening allows the surgeon to see the lungs directly. Your surgeon decides which method is most suitable according to your condition.
Recommendations for Patients Having Surgery
• If you are going to have lung surgery and you smoke, you must quit smoking. The smoke-free period should be at least 4 weeks. Remember that smoking causes problems after surgery. Let this period help you not to take up smoking again. Remember that smokers are at a disadvantage in wound healing and in clearing sputum.
• Continue your daily activities until the surgery, and especially do not stop exercising if you do sports.
• The use of medication before surgery is important. If you are taking drugs such as steroids, aspirin or warfarin (Coumadin), share this with our physician so that they can be stopped or their dose adjusted. Because these drugs increase bleeding, they may cause your surgery to be postponed. Continue taking your other heart, blood pressure and chronic lung medications, and be sure to share them with your doctor.
• Another concern for patients having surgery is body hygiene. Especially for male patients, to clean the hair on the chest area, we recommend taking a bath with liquid soap on the morning of surgery and then applying hair removal cream. Scratches and wounds may become infected and cause problems after surgery.
• After surgery, depending on the situation, the patient may be taken to the intensive care unit or directly to the ward.
• After surgery, the patient has a urinary catheter and one or more drains placed in the chest cavity. Fluid and air that should not accumulate inside are collected through these drains. The patient has a catheter in the neck through which fluids and medication are given. These can be removed within one or a few days after surgery.
• The patient is monitored with daily chest X-rays after surgery.
• When the patient comes to the outpatient clinic for a check-up after discharge, the stitches may be removed.
• The anesthetic drugs used may affect bowel movements, and the necessary medication is given for such problems. Moving and walking as early as possible is necessary for an early bowel movement.
• Mild, intermittent pain, numbness, burning and itching at the surgical site may continue for up to 1 year. We apply the most modern methods to cope with pain, so patients feel very little pain. Keep in mind that the experience of pain varies from person to person.
• If the patient has been discharged after the operation, they are called to the outpatient clinic on day 11 and then at regular intervals, and are evaluated with a physical examination and a chest X-ray.
• For cancer patients, a follow-up lung CT scan is requested at 6 months.
• Depending on the course of the disease, follow-up continues with lung CT scans at intervals of 3 months, 6 months or 1 year.
• For a patient who completes the 5th year without problems, further tests are decided according to symptoms.
Post-Operative Period
Post-Operative Period
- Breathing Exercises
- Movement Exercises
- Pain Control
- After Discharge
- Recovery at Home
- Wound Care
- Resuming Activity
To clear your lungs, strengthen your breathing muscles and prevent complications right after surgery, a nurse or physiotherapist will teach you a set of exercises before the operation. With the exercise device, you will work to expand your lungs more and to cough up sputum. Once these exercises have been taught to you, you will need to do them regularly on your own.
When to Contact My Doctor
After your surgery, let your doctor know if you have any of the following:
• Shortness of breath
• Redness and discharge at your stitch site on the skin
• Sudden, sharp chest pain
• Fever above 37.5ºC
• Coughing up bright red blood
• Difficulty swallowing
• Hoarseness
• Sudden palpitations
Movement Exercises
- While in the hospital, your nurse or physiotherapist will recommend movement exercises, walking above all. You may also be asked to do these movements at home during recovery.
- You will start moving as soon as possible to increase your muscle strength and blood flow. Your nurse or physiotherapist will help you sit and walk.
- Painkillers will make your activity more comfortable. These medications will be given to you by the nurses.
After Discharge
- Continue doing the breathing exercises taught to you by your physiotherapist and keep using the breathing exercise device.
- Walk to promote blood circulation and strengthen your muscles, but avoid body-tightening and weight-lifting exercises for a few weeks.
- Take the medications prescribed to you at discharge and afterwards as directed.
- Discuss your recovery and the results of the surgery with the doctor who will follow you.
Recovery at Home
- For the first few weeks after surgery, you will gain a little more energy and strength each day. At first, breathing may be difficult and you may become short of breath. Do not push yourself too hard, and rest when you get tired. Your doctor will tell you what you can and cannot do while you recover.
Wound Care
- Your stitches will be removed at your outpatient visit after your doctor's examination. You can shower two days after the stitches are removed. When you shower, gently wash the wound with lukewarm water and mild soap. For the first few weeks after surgery, pain, itching, numbness and bruise-like discoloration around the wound and its surroundings are normal. However, if there is any discharge, be sure to contact your doctor.
Resuming Activity
- For the first few weeks after surgery, avoid all activities, such as heavy lifting, that could disturb your healing wound. Start walking to regulate your circulation and to increase your lung capacity and strength. As you begin to feel better, you will start more demanding activities.