Roberto Saad Júnior, Vicente Dorgan Neto, Marcio Botter, Roberto Stirbulov,
Jorge Rivaben, Roberto Gonçalves
We present a protocol to test a new surgical procedure for the treatment of patients with diffuse lung emphysema who, after having
received the golden standard treatment (pulmonary rehabilitation), continue to present respiratory failure with disabling dyspnea. Ten
patients with severe lung hyperinflation will be evaluated. The method proposed is designed to create alternative expiratory passages for
air trapped in the emphysematous lung by draining the lung parenchyma, thereby establishing communication between the alveoli and the
external environment. The ten patients selected will be required to meet the inclusion criteria and to give written informed consent. Those
ten patients will be included in the study pending the approval of the Ethics in Research Committee of the São Paulo Santa Casa School
of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil. The protocol we will employ in order to evaluate the proposed procedure is feasible and will show whether
debilitated patients suffering from diffuse pulmonary emphysema can benefit from this procedure, which could represent an alternative to
lung transplant or lung volume reduction surgery, the only options currently available.
Keywords: Pulmonary emphysema; Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive; Lung, hyperlucent.