Pneumonectomy

A pneumonectomy (or pneumectomy) is an surgicalprocedure to remove a lung. Removal of one lobe of the lung is referred to as a lobectomy, and that of a segment of the lung as a segmentectomy. The term pneumonectomy may also be used in a more general sense to encompass removal of all or part of a lung.

The most common cause for a pneumonectomy is to excise tumouroustissue arising from lung cancer.

It is clear that such an operation will reduce the respiratory capacity of the patient; before conducting a pneumonectomy, the surgeon will evaluate the ability of the patient to function after the lung tissue is removed.

Pioneering dates

• 1895: first pneumonectomy in multiple stages by William Macewenon a patient with tuberculosisand emphysema
• 1931: first successful pneumonectomy in two stages by Rudolph Nissen on a patient with crush injury to the thorax
• 1932: first lobectomy, by Harold Brunn
• 1933: first successful single-stage total pneumonectomy by Graham and Singer
• 1939: first segmentectomy, by Churchill and Belsey

References

• Fuentes, P.Pneumonectomy: historical perspective and prospective insight European Journal of Cardio-thoracic Surgery 23 439?445

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It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonectomy Wikipedia article Pneumonectomy.