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A resuscitative thoracotomy is indicated when severe injuries within the thoracic cavity (such as hemorrhage) prevent the physiologic functions needed to sustain life.The injury may also affect a specific organ such as the heart, which can develop an air embolism or a cardiac tamponade (which prevents the heart from beating properly).
A thoracotomy is a surgical procedure to gain access into the pleural space of the chest. [1] It is performed by surgeons (emergency physicians or paramedics under certain circumstances) to gain access to the thoracic organs, most commonly the heart, the lungs, or the esophagus, or for access to the thoracic aorta or the anterior spine (the latter may be necessary to access tumors in the spine).
Lung surgery is a type of thoracic surgery involving the repair or removal of lung tissue, [1] and can be used to treat a variety of conditions ranging from lung cancer to pulmonary hypertension. Common operations include anatomic and nonanatomic resections, pleurodesis and lung transplants .
When the condition is caused by surgery it is called surgical emphysema. [6] The term spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema is used when the cause is not clear. [5] Subcutaneous emphysema is not typically dangerous in and of itself, however it can be a symptom of very dangerous underlying conditions, such as pneumothorax. [7]
Chest tube clogging can lead to retained blood around the heart and lungs that can contribute to complications and increase mortality. [11] A common complication after thoracic surgery that arises within 30–50% of patients are air leaks. If a chest tube clogs when there is an air leak the patient will develop a pneumothorax.
After a pneumonectomy is performed, changes in the thoracic cavity occur to compensate for the altered anatomy. The remaining lung hyperinflates as well as shifting over along with the heart towards the now empty space. This space is full of air initially after surgery, but then it is absorbed, and fluid eventually takes its place. [9]
After attending AA meetings in Southern California in the late 1950s, he grew to believe that they were not tough enough. The addict needed more than brotherhood. He needed to be challenged, and “to grow up.” After a singular LSD experience, Dederich conjured up a drug-free commune for heroin addicts in Santa Monica.
The lungs are surrounded by two layers of tissue called the pulmonary pleurae. In most healthy people, these two layers are tightly apposed, separated only by a small amount of pleural fluid . In certain disease states, the space between these two layers, called the pleural cavity , swells with fluid.