A pneumonectomy is a type of surgical procedure in which one of the lungs is removed from the human body. The lungs consist of two organs present in the chest cavity whose main function is to supply oxygen into the blood while removing carbon dioxide. They also help filter harmful airborne substances such as smoke, pollution, bacteria, and viruses by trapping them in the mucus which is then expelled from the body by coughing or swallowing. Hence, when one lung is damaged and removed in this procedure, the other lung can still provide enough oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. However, since this surgery removes half of a person’s breathing capacity, doctors usually choose this as a last resort.
The most common reason for this surgery is lung cancer. Other conditions that may require this surgery are traumatic lung injuries, pulmonary tuberculosis, fungal infections of the lung, bronchiectasis, congenital lung disease, bronchial blockage with a destroyed lung, pulmonary metastases, malignant mesothelioma, disseminated thymomas to name a few.
In order to diagnose if an individual requires this surgery, there are certain diagnostic assessments that are carried out such as biopsy, sputum cytology, X-ray, CT scan.