Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde, Volume 141, Issue 27, 1 1 1997, Pages 1327-1330 [A new surgical treatment with reduction of lung volume for severe pulmonary emphysema]. Stolk J, Versteegh MI, van der Peijl ID, Jaddoe VW
Current drug treatment of pulmonary emphysema has little effect on quality of life and duration of survival. Surgical treatment for patients with severe pulmonary emphysema was recently introduced; it consists of resection of lung tissue with poor ventilation and perfusion. Surgical reduction of lung volume improves the forced expiratory pressure per second by 80-100% from 0.8 to 1.51. This increases the exercise tolerance and improves the patient's functioning in everyday life. The postoperative mortality and morbidity are acceptable.
