Pneumonolysis, sometimes referred to as plombage, is the separation of an adherent
lung
The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of ...
from the
pleura
The pulmonary pleurae (''sing.'' pleura) are the two opposing layers of serous membrane overlying the lungs and the inside of the surrounding chest walls.
The inner pleura, called the visceral pleura, covers the surface of each lung and dips b ...
, to permit collapse of the lung. It was formerly used to treat
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...
before effective medications were developed.
The underlying theory of the treatment was the belief that if the diseased lobe of the lung was physically forced to collapse, it would heal quickly. There were positive results in tuberculosis therapy following plombage in the decades of the 1930s, 1940s and early-1950s. However, with the introduction of drugs which were effective in destroying the tuberculosis bacterium (''
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (M. tb) is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis. First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, ''M. tuberculosis'' has an unusual, waxy coating on it ...
''), plombage treatment fell into disfavor. In addition, complications of plombage began to appear in patients who had been so treated. These complications included hemorrhage, infection and fistulization (abnormal opening between two hollow organs) of the bronchus, aorta, esophagus and skin.
The technique involved surgically creating a cavity underneath the ribs in the upper part of the chest wall and filling this space with some inert material. A variety of substances were typically used and included air, olive or mineral oil, gauze, paraffin wax, rubber sheeting or bags and Lucite balls. The inserted material would force the upper lobe of the lung to collapse.
References
External links
*
{{Respiratory system procedures
Pulmonary thoracic surgery