Re-expansion of the lung may take several days with the chest tube left in place. Hospitalization is required for chest tube management. Surgery may be indicated for recurrent episodes. Patients should discontinue smoking and avoid high altitudes, scuba diving, or flying in unpressurized aircraft to prevent the recurrence of pneumothorax. Up to half of patients with spontaneous pneumothorax experience recurrence, but there are no long-term complications following successful therapy.
Spontaneous pneumothorax can recur.
Call your health care provider if severe shortness of breath develops. Call your health care provider if you have had a spontaneous pneumothorax and reexperience the same or similar symptoms. Pneumothorax occurs when air leaks from inside of the lung to the space between the lung and the chest wall. The lung then collapses.