[Report 1938] / Medical Officer of Health, Nottingham City.
- Nottingham (England). City Council.
- Date:
- 1938
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1938] / Medical Officer of Health, Nottingham City. Source: Wellcome Collection.
126/146 (page 118)
![tlie lung itself may be firmly adherent to the chest wall— ])ossibly over a wide area. In either of these circumstances a more radical operation com])rising the removal of portions of most of the ribs on one side (thoracoplasty) may have to be undertaken. Since this operation may be an extensive one, several considerations liave to be borne in mind :— (1) There must be no active disease in the opposite lung because subsequently the patient will be obliged to live depending solely upon this lung. (2) The general health of the patient must be built up to the highest possible level before the operation is undertaken. (3) The age of the patient should not as a general rule exceed fifty. (4) In the less severe types of case where the disease is confined to the apex of the lung, it may be practicable to limit the operation to the removal of a few of the upper ribs. In other cases however the extent of the operation may necessitate its being performed in tw(j or more stages. The results of a thoracoplasty operation are usually very satisfactory. The deformity which remains is too small to be apparent when the })atient is clothed and there is subsequently very little limitation of the arm movements. A further measure calculated to afford greater control over the movements of the affected lung conq)rises the operation of crushing the phrenic nerve. This abolishes](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29924480_0126.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
