[Surgery for pulmonary tuberculosis. Review of 33 operated patients].
BACKGROUND
Surgical treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis is mainly limited to the management of sequelae such as bronchiectasis, hemoptysis and brochopleural fistulae.


OBJECTIVE
To review the data of patients who underwent surgical treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis.


METHODS
Retrospective review of 33 patients aged 18 to 73 years (24 males) who underwent lung resection surgery for the management of pulmonary tuberculosis. Follow-up data were obtained from outpatient visit records and registries of the national tuberculosis program.


RESULTS
The reasons to perform surgery were the following: fifteen for hemoptysis, nine for lung destruction and nine for an active and multiresistant disease. No patient died in the postoperative period. The morbidity observed included empyema (n =5), pneumothorax (n =2), bronchopleural fistula (n =2) and hemothorax (n =2). At six months of follow up, six of the nine patients with active tuberculosis had negative acid-fast bacilli on sputum smear. Two of these patients died, one due to respiratory failure and another by an unrelated cause. Both dead patients had negative acid-fast bacilli on sputum smear.


CONCLUSIONS
Surgery in pulmonary tuberculosis has a high rate of complications but may be useful in selected patients.
Rodríguez
Macarena
M
Servicio de Medicina, Hospital Padre Hurtado, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Hospital INER y CT.
Munita Sepúlveda
José Manuel
JM
Pérez
Daniel
D
Bannura
Felipe
F
Rodríguez
Juan Carlos
JC
Rodríguez
Patricio
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult