Serial Study of Postpneumonectomy State

The immediate as well as long-term alterations in cardiopulmonary function induced by pneumonectomy continue to be of major importance. Whether or not an individual will be permanently disabled by pneumonectomy is a question that is often difficult to answer preoperatively. The employment of operative pulmonary artery pressure measurements has afforded a basis of predicting the immediate effects of pneumonectomy.¹Nevertheless, it has been repeatedly observed that certain patients will undergo pneumonectomy without significant immediate alterations in their cardiopulmonary status only to become pulmonary cripples many years later. In an attempt to elucidate the factors that contribute to this late development of reduced cardiopulmonary reserve and to observe the evolution of pulmonary hypertension in such cases, serial studies have been performed on a group of patients following pneumonectomy.

Clinical Material

Twenty-eight patients who have undergone pneumonectomy and serial postpneumonectomy evaluations at the University of Chicago Clinics form the basis of