Lung nodule surgery may cause the development of a pneumothorax, which is one of the complications of surgery.
Lung nodule surgery involves removing the localized lobar tissue, including the lung nodule, and then suturing the stump of lung tissue. Surgical procedures include traditional open chest direct surgery and thoracoscopic lobectomy.
Pneumothorax is the entry of gas into the pleural cavity, resulting in a state of air accumulation. During surgery for pulmonary nodules, lung tissue in the non-operative area may be damaged, resulting in a breach in the lung tissue and spillage of gas from the lungs into the pleural cavity, creating a pneumothorax.
During suturing of the stump of the lung tissue, the stump may be incompletely sutured or a fistula may develop later in the healing process, resulting in gas spillage into the pleural cavity and the formation of a pneumothorax.
Generally, closed chest drainage is routinely performed after lung nodule surgery, which can observe whether there is active bleeding and air leakage in the chest cavity, and at the same time, it can also drain out the excess blood and gas accumulated in the chest cavity. When pneumothorax occurs, it is recommended to seek timely medical treatment and standardize the treatment.