Emphysema of lungs

What is emphysema?

The concept of emphysema of lungs unites the raised lightness and the lowered mobility of a pulmonary tissue.
More often all is amazed lungs (diffuse emphysema). Sometimes bloated sites of lungs are combined with a normal pulmonary tissue. Such sites name as bullas, and emphysema as bullous.

How it occurrence?

Principal cause of disease - a chronic bronchitis. As a matter of fact, a total of a chronic bronchitis is formation emphysema of lungs.
In development of bullous emphysema the important role hereditary factors, and also the transferred diseases of lungs (play a tuberculosis, etc.).
Smoking, impurity of air various dust particles also assist progress of disease.

What occurs?

It is as a result long current inflammatory process (a chronic bronchitis) a tissue of lungs loses ability dynamically to be stretched and be fallen down according to breath that leads hyperextension of lungs and to increase of quantity of air in them. Such superfluous air does not participate in breath and the hyperinflate pulmonary tissue does not work is high-grade.
The basic complaint of patients with emphysema a short wind significantly amplifying at physical activity. If the reason of disease a heredity the short wind appears already at young age.
Without treatment emphysema progresses, that leads to infringement of work of respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
Bullous emphysema can proceed imperceptibly, being shown already complication by development aeropleura (break bullas and forcing of air in a thorax), demanding urgent surgical treatment.

Diagnosis

Besides survey, for diagnostics emphysema of lungs use:

* Radiological research of lungs it is characteristic distention a pulmonary fabric and increase of its lightness;
* the Computer tomography of lungs apply to diagnostics and definition of a precise arrangement bulla is more often;
* Research of function of external breath — allows to reveal a degree of infringement of function of lungs.

Treatment

The basic methods of treatment emphysema are oxygen therapy (inhalation of air with the raised content of oxygen) and respiratory gymnastics. These methods allow to suspend progress of infringements of work of respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
At bllous emphysema a surgical treatment is recommended. An essence of treatment removal bullas. Such operations can be carried out as by means of classical access with opening a thorax, and endoscopic (by means of special tools, through punctures of a thorax). Endoscopic removal of bullas is more preferential: significantly the regenerative period after operation is shorter, is absent extensive cicatrical tissue on a thorax.
Duly removal of bullas warns progress of such terrible complication as aeropleura hit of air in a thorax owing to break bullas.
If the reason of emphysema is the chronic bronchitis, the important role is played with the prevention of development of aggravations of a bronchitis. At development of an aggravation its rational treatment under the control of the doctor, including with application of antibiotics.