Imagine having to ask someone to tie your shoes because bending over means you can’t breathe. Not being able to “catch your breath” means that you can’t take a long hot shower or do simple chores like vacuuming without supplemental oxygen.  Those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) don’t have to imagine these scenarios.
COPD is a common lung disease that causes difficulty breathing. The two main forms of COPD include chronic bronchitis and emphysema. COPD is expected to become the third leading cause of death world-wide by the 2030s, according to a 2013 report from the World Health Organization.
Emphysema progressively destroys the lungs by turning the air sacs into large, asymmetrical pockets with gaping holes in their inner walls. It also eliminates the elastic fibers that hold open the small airways leading to the air sacs. The airways collapse upon exhalation and the air in the lungs cannot escape. The lungs then increase in size and push down on the diaphragm, making it difficult to breathe. Most patients with end-stage emphysema are very limited in their daily activities: their breathing is labor intensive, and they rely on supplemental oxygen.
Help for patients with end-stage emphysema
SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois is one of five programs in the United States offering the only known surgery to help those with end-stage emphysema. Dr. Stephen Hazelrigg, SIU cardiothoracic surgeon, performs lung volume reductions surgery (LVRS) at Springfield’s Memorial Medical Center (MMC). Dr. Hazelrigg has performed approximately 500 lung volume reduction surgeries on patients from 13 different states since 1993.
To relieve the stress on the diaphragm and help the patient breathe more easily, the surgeon makes three small incisions and removes the most damaged part of the upper lobe of the lung. Removing the damaged areas allows the remaining healthy tissue and surrounding muscles to work more efficiently. Without the damaged area, the lung shrinks down, and the diaphragm can relax and move up and down more easily.  “It doesn’t seem to make sense, but it works,” Dr. Hazelrigg says. “Many of these people are out of options; no other medications can help them.”
Relief and breathing improvement varies from person to person. Some patients may feel like they are breathing better during the hospital stay, but it usually takes a few months. Patients report after a month that they are able to do things such as shower more easily or walk through the house without supplemental oxygen. LVRS typically improves breathing by 40-50 percent. “This is a dramatic improvement in the lives of these patients,” Dr. Hazelrigg says.
There’s nothing like a good, deep breath and now even some who suffer from COPD will be able to breathe more easily thanks to this life-saving surgery.
Read more about Dr. Hazelrigg and LVRS in SIU School of Medicine’s aspects magazine.
To learn move about Dr. Hazelrigg and watch a short video about how LVRS changed one woman’s life.
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