If it is a foreign body in the respiratory tract, including a sputum plug, a button, peanut rice, or a fish spike that obstructs the main bronchus or upper or lower lobe bronchus of the left lung, the removal of the foreign body will not affect the life expectancy if the lung reopens quickly. If the atelectasis is caused by bronchial tuberculosis, after active and standardized anti-tuberculosis treatment, the tuberculosis can be effectively controlled and the atelectasis can be recovered. If the left lung atelectasis is caused by central lung cancer, the mass can shrink if surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are given, and the survival period is usually 1-2 years. If there is no change in the mass after series of treatment and it grows progressively, causing obstructive pneumonia and obstructive pulmonary dysplasia, the life is usually between 8-10 months. So how long you can live with left lung atelectasis depends on the nature of the left lung atelectasis, including inflammation, tuberculosis, tumor and foreign body, etc. Survival time can be relatively long except for cancer.