Emphysema

Emphysema is a form of lung disease that limits the amount of air you can breathe out.  Your lungs are two large sacs filled with smaller sacs.  These smaller sacs are attached to small airways. Emphysema causes the destruction of these smaller sacs.

Patients with emphysema are usually smokers. Stopping smoking is the most critical part of treating emphysema and may determine your treatment options.

Watch a short video about emphysema.

Causes
Emphysema is caused by:

• Smoking
• Genetics.  Some people with emphysema have a protein deficiency that puts them at risk of developing this disease.

Symptoms
Symptoms of emphysema include:

• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Coughing
• Fatigue
• Weight loss
• Tightness of the chest

Diagnosis
To create an individualized treatment plan your doctor will want to determine if you have emphysema.  Your doctor will:

1. Perform a thorough clinical examination and ask for a detailed family history
2. Order the following diagnostic exams:
   • Blood tests
   • Pulmonary function tests.  These tests look at how hard your lungs are working to breathe.
   • Chest X-rays
   • Sputum culture (to examine the sputum from coughing under a microscope)
   • CT scan

Treatment Options
The primary treatment for emphysema is medication and lifestyle modification programs, including a smoking cessation program.  Stopping smoking is the most important part of emphysema treatment, as it is the only way to stop the damage from occurring to the lungs.

Factors in Surgical Intervention
If the emphysema continues to progress, your doctors may recommend surgery called lung volume reduction surgery, or LVRS.   This procedure can help those patients with end-stage emphysema.

Surgical Intervention
LVRS is performed by our team of experienced thoracic surgeons at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.  By removing small portions, or wedges, of the upper lobes, the lungs work more efficiently at breathing.   This enables patients to function with fewer symptoms of breathlessness.