In a first, a leading private hospital in Delhi performed a keyhole lung surgery on a Covid-affected patient. The surgery was done to revive his collapsed lung.
Sanjay Batra, a 55-year-old male, developed pneumothorax, a condition of a collapsed lung, caused by the presence of air in the chest cavity. This lead to the lung being trapped because of the formation of an inelastic peel over the lung surface, after recovering from the infection. This peel was not allowing the lungs to expand despite the insertion of tubes in his chest cavity. Extreme weakness meant he doctors could not perform open surgery.
The surgery was performed by Dr Shaiwal Khandelwal, Senior Consultant, Minimally Invasive & Robotic Thoracic Surgery, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, New Delhi, and his team.
Dr Khandelwal says, “This is the first time ever a keyhole surgery of the chest for a collapsed lung was performed in India on a patient affected from Covid-19 infection."
The patient contracted Covid-19 in September and tested negative the following month. But a few days after his recovery from the infection and returning home, he started complaining of sudden onset breathlessness and was rushed to the nearby hospital and diagnosed with pneumothorax in the right lung.
He underwent an emergency chest drain procedure of suctioning out air from his right chest cavity with the help of a tube with partial relief.
Dr Ajay Lall says, “As correct timing is often a key component in critical care, the difficult decision was taken to refer the case to the thoracic surgeon in spite of general weakness and damaged lung due to COVID.”
Lung Issues Common in Post COVID Patients
Dr Khandelwal says, “Covid-19 infection affects lungs very commonly. It can cause life-threatening complications that require surgical interventions. But when patients become very weak, after infection, they cannot tolerate open surgery and benefit more from minimally invasive surgical procedures. After the COVID infection, the patient developed pneumonia and other Covid-related changes in both the lungs. His right lung collapsed, due to the pneumothorax, and thick pleural rind further compromising his breathing capacity and preventing lung expansion."
"The right lung of the patient started expanding by the end of the VATS surgery when the patient was still on the operation table. His breathing capacity improved and the patient was discharged six days later without oxygen support.”Dr Shaiwal Khandelwal
VATS, which involves making tiny cuts over the chest wall and is performed with the help of special endoscopic cameras and instruments, also causes less pain and allows for faster recovery.
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