Pneumothorax after endobronchial valve treatment: No drain, no gain?

摘要

The only cure for patients with COPD/emphysema is lung transplantation. However, with the strict eligibility criteria and an inadequate supply of donor organs, this is not a realistic option for many. A variety of surgical procedures for the palliation of symptoms in lung hyperinflation due to emphysema have been attempted over many years, but little success was seen until the advent of lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS). LVRS was first reported in 1957 [1], but was not widely adopted until Joel Cooper perfected the technique of stapled resection in the mid-1990s and reported his results [2, 3].