Pulmonary decompression surgery is the removal of the most severe lung tissue in COPD patients with emphysema, which (feiqizhong.com) is a pathological condition in which the airways at the distal end of the terminal fine bronchi (respiratory fine bronchi, alveolar ducts, alveolar sacs and alveoli) are hypoelastic, hyperinflated, inflated and have increased lung volume or are accompanied by airway wall destruction. Lung decongestion surgery can be an effective treatment for severe emphysema, according to a new study published by Mayo Clinic researchers in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Researchers followed 1,218 patients with severe emphysema enrolled in the U.S. National Emphysema Treatment Trial and randomly assigned a subset to receive pulmonary decompression surgery and another subset to non-surgical treatment, which typically includes medications, oxygen support, smoking cessation, and pulmonary rehabilitation. 608 cases had pulmonary decompression surgery and 610 received standard treatment; patients then received 5 years of follow-up treatment or until they died. The researchers found that the average survival time after standard treatment was one year, and two years for patients treated with lung decongestion. “We found that lung decompression surgery is a good alternative therapy for emphysema disease because it not only improves survival but also effectively improves quality of life, with a survival period of at least five years after surgery,” the experts said, adding, “Patients who underwent lung decompression surgery with the emphysema-bearing portion removed had improved survival and quality of life have improved in comparison.”