THE SURGICAL TREATMENT OF PULMONARY EMPHYSEMA.

Emphysema may be focal or multifocal. In either type an area of disease may enlarge and reduce the function of adjacent lung.Thirty patients who required treatment for emphysema and its complications are described. Fifteen patients with focal emphysema that did not constitute a space-occupying lesion required operation because of recurrent pneumothorax or infection in the affected area. The results were excellent. Ten patients with focal emphysema and progressive "space occupation" complained of moderate but increasing dyspnea. Removal of the enlarging lesion resulted in marked improvement. Five patients with multifocal emphysema and progressive space occupation in one focal area suffered from severe dyspnea and poor general health. The space-occupying lesion was removed by lobectomy. The results, measured by pulmonary function tests and subjective improvement, were rewarding in most cases. No patient with multifocal emphysema but without a space-occupying lesion under-went operation.