Here we go again

Lawson's doctor called us today to say that one of the blebs had burst and caused a pneumothorax, air in the space outside the lung in the pleural space. They just happened to see it on a routine chest x-ray. Normally this would be a very serious condition that causes the lung to collapse. Since Lawson's left lung is so filled with blebs, (apparently there are hundreds) the lung was inflated by them and did not collapse. So although they're not supposed to be there, they helped him make it through the pneumothorax without having a collapsed lung. His team of doctors was able to go in with a needle and release the trapped air. Unfortunately, it reaccumulated in about 5 minutes. So they have decided to reinstall the left chest tube. This time it will be removing the trapped air instead of fluid. They are not sure if the air that is reaccumulating is air that is being pushed in through the breathing tube or if the other blebs are also bursting. Either way, the chest tube is necessary to deal with the excess air. Dr. Tanaka also pointed out that he was worried that there might be very little 'healthy' lung tissue in the left lung, due to all the blebs. We will have to wait until the blebs have been dealt with before we'll know the answer to that question. They are expecting to have more answers by early next week.