The effect of thoracic surgery on pulmonary function.
BACKGROUND
Pulmonary function is a main factor influencing postoperative morbidity and mortality in thoracic surgery.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the significance of surgical trauma on postoperative pulmonary function by comparing the preoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second with that obtained 14 days after surgery.


METHODS
A retrospective study was conducted on 385 consecutive patients undergoing elective thoracic surgery over 3 years.


RESULTS
Operative trauma alone effected a reduction of approximately 0.6 L per second in the value of forced expiratory volume in 1 second irrespective of the extent of pulmonary resection. Significant differences in the overall reduction among enucleation, segmental resection, lobectomy, and pneumonectomy were not observed.


CONCLUSIONS
The data indicated that the remaining lung tissue was severely compromised throughout the postoperative period and that surgical trauma was the main factor influencing postoperative pulmonary function for at least 2 weeks.
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013903:Thoracic Surgery