Our experience in treating patients with bullous dystrophy complicated by pneumothorax

Abstract

Our experience in treating patients with bullous dystrophy complicated by pneumothorax. Bullous emphysema of the lung is a local alteration of lung tissue characterized by the destruction of alveolar septa and the formation of air cysts with a diameter of more than 0.5 cm (bullae), the walls of which are lined with alveolar epithelium (with lung tissue density below -860 HU). The aim of the study was to determine effective tactics and select a rational type of surgical intervention in cases of spontaneous pneumothorax where complete lung re-expansion was not achieved through drainage. It was found that men are affected 5-10 times more often than women, predominantly among patients with bronchopulmonary diseases. By draining the pleural cavity, complete lung re-expansion was achieved within 7-10 days in 273 patients (66.3%), within 11-30 days in 16 patients (3.9%), while 123 patients (29.9%) required surgical intervention for full lung re-expansion.