Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS)

Overview and Facts about Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS)

Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) is a type of thoracic surgery used to remove diseased lung tissue. Each LVRS procedure usually involves removing 20-30% of each lung.

Surgeons generally perform this treatment in patients who have lung damage from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

By having these diseased parts of the lung removed, you should be able to breathe easier, exercise more and have an overall improved quality of life because your lungs will function better.

What to Expect with Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS)

Before you can have LVRS, you’ll need to undergo numerous imaging and exercise tests to make sure you’re healthy enough for the surgery and pinpoint the exact areas of the lung to remove.

On the day of the surgery, you’ll be given general anesthesia so you will be completely unconscious. Then, your surgeon will perform one of three techniques:

• Median sternotomy: surgeon cuts into the middle of the chest through the bone to get to the lungs
• Thoracotomy: the surgeon goes in between the ribs from the side to access the lungs
• Video-assisted thoracoscopy: a minimally invasive procedure where the surgeon makes a small incision and uses a camera to guide the surgery

What are the Side Effects of Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS)?

Side effects after LVRS depend on the procedure you had. For more invasive surgeries, like the median sternotomy or the thoracotomy, you may experience more pain, bruising and swelling because you’re the incision on your chest was larger.

One common side effect of all the procedures is an air leak. This is when air leaks from the lung into the chest cavity through the incision your surgeon made.

Fortunately, for most patients these air leaks heal on their own as the lung repairs itself. Until that happens, you may need a chest tube in place to help release the leaked air from your chest.

What are the Risks of Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS)?

There is always the risk that an air leak won’t heal. If this happens, you may need another surgery to help repair the hole in the lung.

As with other thoracic surgeries, pneumonia or infection of the lung is also possible if bacteria infect the wound.

Other possible complications include:

• Bleeding
• Blood clots that break off and get lodged in the lungs or brain
• Irregular heart rhythm or heart attack