Lung resection for tuberculosis in children.

At the Nova Scotia Sanatorium from 1944 to 1959 lung resection for tuberculosis was carried out in 1257 instances. Of these, 44 operations were performed on 41 children from 5 to 15 years of age. Two patients had bilateral surgery, and in two others a second homolateral resection was necessary. Twenty-five per cent of the operations were done for the "middle lobe syndrome", the remainder for the reinfection type of tuberculosis. Two children died, one in the early postoperative period, of pulmonary edema, and the other six years after a second homolateral resection for progression of her tuberculous disease. Complications occurred in 20% of cases, of which 18% were early and reversible. Thirty-eight of the survivors have fully recovered and the other has improved.Pulmonary resection is required infrequently in children with tuberculosis. When it is indicated, the results are excellent. These young patients withstand major thoracic surgery extremely well.