Postoperative pulmonary complications contribute significantly to overall surgery success. It is estimated that the overall risk of pulmonary complication is about 6.8% (2-70%). Complication risk is determined by multiple factors, some are related to the patient while others are related to the type of surgery.
Some of the most common pulmonary complications after a surgery include:
- Atelectasis (partial or total collapse of the lung)
- Infection, including bronchitis and pneumonia
- Respiratory failure (mechanical ventilation for >48 hours after surgery or unplanned re-intubation)
- Hypoxemia
- Exacerbation of underlying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma
Lung surgery (partial resection or total resection) represent special category of risk in terms of pulmonary complications. This is because the assessment needs to consider the residual lung capacity and the ability of the lungs to provide enough respiratory support after the surgery.
At TruDoc Medical we perform extensive evaluation of the lung function prior to any surgery and provide an assessment of the lung health status, methods of optimization of lung function. We also counsel about the best practices to avoid postoperative pulmonary complications.