My husband was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in Oct 2012. T4 N2 M0. He has undergone concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy, 33 doses of radiotherapy and Cisplatin and Etoposide administered twice.
His original disease was stable 12 months after the treatment finished.
He developed two new nodules in the same lung and underwent microwave ablation 3 weeks ago. We were warned that he may have pneumothorax because of the procedure and sure enough he has a pneumothorax, treated with a small chest drain, twice over 9 days. He was discharged from the hospital with 5% deflated lung and an ambulatory chest drain. The drain fell out, an X-Ray showed still 5% deflation so he was stitched up! no chest drain reinserted and was booked for a follow up 4 dats later.
The follow up X-Ray showed 75% deflation and a bigger chest drain was put in and he has undergone chemical pleurodesis. 4 days on, his lung is still not 100%.
Anybody have experience of a pneumothorax in lung cancer?
What are the implications if the lung doesn't recover completely?
Is the disease complicating the recovery?
What are the implications for prognosis?
I'm very confused and can't seem to get a straight answer from the doctors on the ward who seem only to be managing the pneumothorax and not seeing the whole picture with regard to the lung cancer.
Any experiences or thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Pneumothorax after microwave ablation - 1262183
shansam2
![]()
Posts:1
Forums
Reply # - February 9, 2014, 07:31 PM
Reply To: Pneumothorax after microwave ablation
As Dr. West states in his post on radiofrequency ablation (RFA): "RFA can certainly have complications, most notably pneumothorax, or collapse of the lung, which occurs in about 30% of cases, and 1/3 of those cases require placement of a chest tube." - http://cancergrace.org/lung/2007/03/06/rfa-for-lung-tumors/ So it's not at all uncommon.
The NIH has this to say about treatment for pneumothorax:
A small pneumothorax may go away on its own. You may only need oxygen and rest.
The health care provider may use a needle to pull the extra air out from around the lung so it can expand more fully. You may be allowed to go home if you live near the hospital.
If you have a large pneumothorax, a chest tube will be placed between the ribs into the space around the lungs to help drain the air and allow the lung to re-expand.
The chest tube can be left in place for several days. You may need to stay in the hospital. However, you may be able to go home if a small chest tube is used.
Some patients with a collapsed lung need extra oxygen.
Lung surgery may be needed to treat your pneumothorax or to prevent future episodes. The area where the leak occurred may be repaired. Sometimes, a special chemical is placed into the area of the collapsed lung. This chemical causes a scar to form. This procedure is called pleurodesis. - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000087.htm
Pneumothorax is essentially a mechanical problem not necessarily related to your husband's lung cancer, so it probably would not affect his prognosis.
I hope his pneumothorax clears up soon.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - February 9, 2014, 09:03 PM
Reply To: Pneumothorax after microwave ablation
Yes, just to corroborate Jim's points, a pneumothorax is a common complication that has no implications about prognosis. It most often either resolves on its own or sometimes requires a chest tube and then resolves.
Good luck.
-Dr. West