Pleurodesis anybody?

[bob47]

I bookended 2016 with a collapsed lung in January and in December, so a chemical (talc) pleurodesis is in store in a couple of weeks.

Has anybody had a pleurodesis? I'm curious about long term effectiveness in preventing spontaneous pneumothorax, and any side effects.

Thanks for any comments.

[Susanlynde]

You may want to consider joining the "Patients Like Me" group at patientslikeme.com which is a great resource for making contact with patients with similar health conditions to share experiences and resources. This is a credible organization which provides a forum for patients to be more informed consumers and advocates for themselves. This is a place where you are likely to find many people with experience with this procedure and with your health concerns.

[Waverunner]

A little over 30 years ago, when I was 27, I had my first spontaneous lung collapse. Four months later, I had the second (same lung). My doctor, a surgeon, recommended the procedure to keep it from happening again. He did the surgery and removed six blebs in the process, so this was, potentially, six more times that I could have had a collapse happen. After the surgery, it never happened again.

I have had different surgeries in my life, including an emergency C-section and have to say that the lung surgery was the toughest recovery of all of them. (I am not sure that you are having the same process/procedure.) Lung collapses are life threatening events, so in retrospect, I would not change a thing.

[bob47]

Thanks for both helpful replies.

My procedure will be done arthroscopically so perhaps the recovery will be a little quicker. If it results in 30 trouble free years, mission accomplished.