Surgery didn't work. They found out she has severe Hemoptysis. I am trying to figure out what exactly that is. So far, all I know is that if it is mild, it is no big deal. If it is severe, well, that is exactly what it is. Not good.
sorry to hear thatrangersladyNovember 23 2009, 20:49:19 UTC
Sorry to hear that. Here is some information that I found.
If hemoptysis (the spitting up of blood-streaked sputum) is persistent or troublesome, a bronchoscopy is performed to determine which lung has been damaged and, if possible, to locate the bleeding site. The bronchoscopy procedure employs a rigid, tubular metal device, or a flexible fiber-optic bronchoscope, that is inserted through the trachea. In some cases, bronchoscopy is used to suction out secretions stubbornly retained in the respiratory tract. The procedure is an unpleasant experience for the person being examined or undergoing suction. In exceptionally serious cases, thoracotomy (open chest surgery) is required. This extreme measure is employed only if (1) there is persistent, severe bleeding (determined by measuring the amount of blood flowing out of the chest tube), (2) it is impossible to completely reexpand the lung by means of thoracostomy drainage, or (3) the injured person displays signs of massive blood loss and shock. Also, on occasion, a severe and continuous air leak (sometimes accompanied by unabated hemoptysis) requires exploration by means of thoracotomy. Injured lung tissue has good healing properties.Thus, in performing a thoracotomy, the surgeon makes every attempt to preserve lung tissue and only resects (removes) tissue that is clearly avascular (cut off from its blood supply) or is almost detached from the rest of the lung. Not every wound encountered during a thoracotomy procedure must be surgically closed. If a small air leak is encountered, for example, the surgeon may ignore it, confident that the continued use chest-tube drainage will resolve the problem. Routinely, however, air leaks are surgically closed by the surgeon. Small leaking air passages are ligated (tied off). Bleeding vessels undergo ligature or mechanical coagulation. Once such repairs are complete, the surgeon reconstructs the lung's overall structure by lightly suturing or stapling the torn pleural edges together. A surgeon will not resect a sizeable portion of injured lung unless he or she encounters a major destruction of tissue. In rare cases, despite attempts to conserve lung tissue, the surgeon must perform a lobectomy or pneumonectomy (the removal of a lobe or an entire lung). However, pneumonectomy has a poor prognosis in blunt trauma cases, and is avoided if possible.
Re: sorry to hear thatjediwarriorNovember 23 2009, 22:10:36 UTC
Thank you very much for that info. It explains a lot of what she has been going through. So according to that info, I am guessing they did thoracotomy twice. The have been having her sleep and monitoring her blood loss. I haven't received any updates today, so I am still hoping for the best.
If hemoptysis (the spitting up of blood-streaked sputum) is persistent or troublesome, a bronchoscopy is performed to determine which lung has been damaged and, if possible, to locate the bleeding site. The bronchoscopy procedure employs a rigid, tubular metal device, or a flexible fiber-optic bronchoscope, that is inserted through the trachea. In some cases, bronchoscopy is used to suction out secretions stubbornly retained in the respiratory tract. The procedure is an unpleasant experience for the person being examined or undergoing suction.
In exceptionally serious cases, thoracotomy (open chest surgery) is required. This extreme measure is employed only if (1) there is persistent, severe bleeding (determined by measuring the amount of blood flowing out of the chest tube), (2) it is impossible to completely reexpand the lung by means of thoracostomy drainage, or (3) the injured person displays signs of massive blood loss and shock. Also, on occasion, a severe and continuous air leak (sometimes accompanied by unabated hemoptysis) requires exploration by means of thoracotomy.
Injured lung tissue has good healing properties.Thus, in performing a thoracotomy, the surgeon makes every attempt to preserve lung tissue and only resects (removes) tissue that is clearly avascular (cut off from its blood supply) or is almost detached from the rest of the lung. Not every wound encountered during a thoracotomy procedure must be surgically closed. If a small air leak is encountered, for example, the surgeon may ignore it, confident that the continued use chest-tube drainage will resolve the problem. Routinely, however, air leaks are surgically closed by the surgeon. Small leaking air passages are ligated (tied off). Bleeding vessels undergo ligature or mechanical coagulation. Once such repairs are complete, the surgeon reconstructs the lung's overall structure by lightly suturing or stapling the torn pleural edges together.
A surgeon will not resect a sizeable portion of injured lung unless he or she encounters a major destruction of tissue. In rare cases, despite attempts to conserve lung tissue, the surgeon must perform a lobectomy or pneumonectomy (the removal of a lobe or an entire lung). However, pneumonectomy has a poor prognosis in blunt trauma cases, and is avoided if possible.
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