Pneumothorax

Question: How long after a Thoracotomy for pneumothorax can I return to work? I had a Thoracotomy on 12-1-08 for a pneumothorax. What is the average time that a person is out of work for this type of procedure? I spent 8 days in the hospital.

Answer: It will of course, be dependant upon how you feel. If you have a strenuous job, you may be off work up to 6-8 weeks. If you have an easy job, or you sit at a desk, you may be off for 3-4 weeks after your surgery.

Question: Does holding my sneeze give me a higher risk of having spontaneous pneumothorax? I have a habit of holding my sneeze and currently have a repeated history of having pneumothorax. The doctor told me that my right lung has developed a few bullae (bubbles) that could be the reason for me to have pneumothorax frequent. He (doctor) further explains that our lungs are made of elastic tissue. I came to that assumption (the question) because i believe the pressure build up in my chest that isn't released (because i hold my sneeze) could have caused the formation of those bullaes. According to my doctors, my left lung is normal. The biggest bullae found on my right lung is 7mm. I'm trying to fix my habit now.

Answer: Blebs and bullae can break when pressure within the lungs becomes severe. They could break because of extra pressure from diving. Holding sneezes is just not a good idea in the first place. It may also harm your ear drums. If you need to sneeze, let it go in a direction where people and food are not. Lots of people have blebs or bullae and don't know about it. You do, so please take care of yourself. They should be stable as long as you don't strain your lungs with extreme pressure. For example, this would be: violent coughing, holding your sneezes, diving, and flying in unpressurized aircraft above 10,000 ft. Sometime people who are tall and skinny have a tendency to get spontaneous pneumothoracies. If you are like 6ft and 140 lbs, then you might be a candidate for this. It's just something that happens for that population.

Question: can I become airborne qualified if I had a pneumothorax? I had a pneumothorax over 10 years ago. It was corrected through surgery and have not had a problem since. Im enlisting in the army and wondered if that would effect my eligibility for airborne training.

Answer: A pneumothorax corrected by surgery is only disqualifying for entry into the armed forces if it happened in the last three years. A spontaneous pneumothorax with full return of lung function is only disqualifying for airborne assignment if it happened in the last three months. The sources below are the respective medical standards (enlistment and airborne) for this condition.

Question: Are you at a higher risk of a pneumothorax if you already had one? If the cause of the pneumothorax was asthma, then are you at a higher risk of getting it again than the general population? I know that if you have had a spontaneous pnemo then you would be at a higher risk. Does you risk increase if you have just had a pneumothorax, the type doesn't matter?

Answer: To my understanding of the medical peer-reviewed literature ... yes

Question: What is Catamenial Pneumothorax? What makes the lung collapse? My wife wants me to read the only book on this subject called, Living With Lung and Colon Endometriosis/Catamenial Pneumothorax by Glynis D. Wallace DMD. If this is a real disease, why is this the only book on the subject?

Answer: It is a real manifestation of the disease. Simply because there are not specific books on it, doesn't mean it's not real. There have been extensive mentions of this topic in all the various and sundry other Endo books that have been published over the years [example; a search on Amazon turns up the term referenced in over 40 books], and the medical literature is literally replete with coverage of it [ref: PubMed]. Even the book discussed above shares the title with "colon Endometriosis." I assure you, this is a real thing which is affecting real women. The book above is a must-read; highly recommended.

Question: Can I go to a concert after having a pneumothorax? I originally had a pneumothorax in mid-july, in Israel. In early august I went to a concert where a lot of people were smoking, and there was powerful base, which somehow triggered a relapse. currently, most of the pain is gone, however sometimes i feel a much smaller version of what i originally felt, which lasts a few days, and then subsides. would it be a bad idea to go to a concert in a month?

Answer: Zack ... sounds like it .... the environment definitely is not helpful ...

Question: Is there any restriction on drinking alcohol about 3 weeks after Thoracoscopic surgery for a pneumothorax? Doctors didnt mention it so just wondering if its not a good idea to drink alcohol shortly after Thoracoscopic surgery for a pneumothorax. Any concerns i should have etc. thank you.

Answer: You didn't mention if you were on medication after your surgery. On the side of caution i would wait a bit longer to imbibe. Please call your Dr. to be sure.

Question: Can I smoke weed after a spontaneous pneumothorax? About a week ago I had my first spontaneous pneumothorax, not due to smoke inhalation, but due to my tall lean figure. Would it now be okay for me to smoke marijuana just once?

Answer: dear black, NO

Question: Would I be allowed to undergo SEAL or Force Recon training after a pneumothorax? about 3 years ago i had a spontaneous pneumothorax. i was disqualified from enlistment in the military until next year(2010). So i'm wondering if it would be safe for me to try out for Marine Force Recon or for Navy SEALs. I know i would be allowed to go to Airborne school, but im not sure about the diving and military free fall schools.

Answer: It's on a case by case basis. Depending on what caused your pneumothorax and how likely it is to recur.

Question: What is the maximum amount of time you could survive a tension pneumothorax? I *don't* have an injury, it was a question that my brother asked whilst we were watching a war film.

Answer: Survival depends on the severity of the injury and the underlying physical condition of the patient. A true tension PTX acts like a one way valve, letting air into the pleural space but not out. More air coming in will lead to greater symptoms. A person in poor condition (crappy heart, crappy lungs) might last only a few minutes, while a young, otherwise healthy person may last hours. Depends on a lot of factors.

Question: Pneumothorax? Are there any autoimmune diseases that a repetitive pneumothorax (collapsed lung) is a symptom of?

Answer: not that i can think of

Question: How do I know for sure if I have a serious case pneumothorax? I can still breathe properly, and I can still move around a lot. It just hurts a little in the left rib area every time I inhale heavily. I was just playing basketball outside by myself the other day and this is the first time my rib has ever hurt like this before. I didn't hit it or touch it, I just took a break to get some water and went back outside and it started to hurt. Do I just have a cramp or a torn muscle?

Answer: IF YOU HAD A COLLAPSED LUNG (PNEUmOTHORAX) I'd expect you to have other symptoms such as shortness of breath, rapid heart rate and rapid breathing, probably a cough and even a blueish tinge to the skin due to lack of oxygen. It's more likely to be a pulled intercostal nmuscle (The muscles between your ribs) Get it checked out if you're worried.

Question: Any chance of diving after spontaneous pneumothorax? My lung collapsed over 5 years ago because of spontaneous pneumothorax. One of the best surgeons in the field fixed the problem. Would I be allowed to (scuba) dive with a note from the surgeon?

Answer: Not a good idea I'm afraid. DAN (the Diver's Alert Network) has an article published on this subject here: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medica… Scroll down to the bottom of that page.

Question: what is the connection between tall skinny white males and spontaneous pneumothorax? after having a spontaneous pneumothorax, my son was told that it almost always occurs in tall, skinny, white males

Answer: This is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article: "Spontaneous pneumothoraces are reported in young people with a tall stature. As men are generally taller than women, there is a preponderance among males. The reason for this association, while unknown, is hypothesized to be the presence of subtle abnormalities in connective tissue. Some spontaneous pneumothoraces however, are results of "blebs", blister like structures on the surface of the lung, that rupture allowing the escape of air into the pleural cavity." It mentions gender and height, but not race. Here's a link to the full article that may be helpful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumothora…

Question: I just suffered a secondary pneumothorax, how long should I take off work recovering? I'm being pressured to return to work and it hasn't been a week since I was given emergency chest drain treatment in hospital. My condition is COPD and I'm 53 yrs old. I'm unable to walk more than 20 yards without becoming extremely breathless. My work is sedentary but stressful and requires commuting.

Answer: It is not really possible to give you an absolute answer. All patients are different and as a conditition affects them there is always a soil and seed situation. 4 Weeks would seem a reasonable start and then take it from there.

Question: What are the early symptoms of a light form of pneumothorax? Is there any possibility for me to suffer of a non severe (no problem at breathing, no pain or pressure) form of that illness, if I hear some "bubbling" underneat my ribs, on both sides, generally once a week? If not that..what else could it be?

Answer: A pneumothorax usually results from some sort of trauma to the chest, but other situations have been known to cause a spontaneous pneumothorax. The bubbling sound you're referring to may be bowel sounds...they can sometimes be heard beneath the ribs. However, if by bubbling you mean crackling (sort of like rice crispies) that is a pretty definitive sign that a pneumothorax may be present....that crackling sound is caused by an air leak into the skin tissue and is almost always the result of a pneumothorax. A pneumothorax will progress fairly quickly, and they are usually only treated if they comprise 10-15% of the chest cavity. Also, a pneumothorax is something that occurs suddenly...it is not something that would disappear/reappear once a week. However, If the bubbling noise persists, you become short of breath or you develop severe chest pain you need to see a doctor right away.