When he was a teenager, the recently elected Roman Catholic Pope, Francis I, had a severe lung infection. To save his life, surgeons removed one of his lungs. He healed and matured to be a strong and healthy senior citizen. Some people questioned his health because of this, so today’s blog brings information about your two lungs.
By definition, “the lungs are a pair of spongy, air-filled organs located on either side of the chest (thorax). The trachea (windpipe) conducts inhaled air into the lungs through its tubular branches, called bronchi. The bronchi then divide into smaller and smaller branches (bronchioles), finally becoming microscopic.”
Here’s the good news!
As with your kidneys and your eyes, you have two lungs, but you can live a normal life with only one of any of these organs. The pope’s followers need not worry; he can still breathe normally with only one healthy lung. In the last century such surgery was very common. Doctors would remove a lung (pneumonectomy) or a lobe of a lung (lobectomy) to cure tuberculosis or bronchiectasis.
Update: Subsequent to news releases, experts about the pope disagreed about which of these two surgeries the pope actually was used in the pope’s case, but there is always privacy and secrecy surrounding the Vatican. Regardless of which surgery was used, it is likely that the infection was very severe and recovery at that time was difficult and miserable for any patient.
“A person with two lungs has a lot of reserve function, so if one lung is removed, he or she can still function normally, without shortness of breath,” said Loyola University Medical Center pulmonologist Dr. Daniel Dilling. So, what happens when a lung is removed? The body has a remarkable healing capacity; “the empty cavity fills up with “sterile, watery fluid that does not cause problems,” Dr. Dilling explained.
Here’s One Caution! Keep in mind, however, that if you only have one lung and you contract a lung disease, you will have no reserve.
Here is more good news!
Thankfully, in today’s medicine, lung infections are seldom treated with removal. Doctors respond with powerful antibiotic treatments in tuberculosis and to halt the progress of bronchiectasis cases.
The Doctors and staff of Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Center Specialists take this opportunity to offer a greeting of “Happy Spring!” We hope this time of rebirth and renewal brings you and your families health and joy. In the words of Percy Bysshe Shelley, from his poem, “The Sensitive Plant, we bring you a celebratory quote,
“And Spring arose on the garden fair, Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere. And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast, rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.”
