Results from the surgical board meeting 3/1/2012

EXCELLENT news!!!! The CT scans shows that I am a good candidate for the surgery. So, we continue with more testing to qualify for the surgery.

The lungs are definitely worst at the top, but not as bad as you would think it would be with the low pulmonary function rest results. There is a lot of normal lung left at the bottom.   This is exactly what you want for LVRS.  With LVRS they would remove 20 - 30% of the top lobes, so the bottom lobes need to be healthy enough to withstand remove of a portion of the top lobes. 

They rated the lungs as follows (0 = no emphysema and 4 = > 76% or more emphysema):

LUNGS

Top lobes = 3
Middle lobes =2
Bottom lobes =1

The surgeons want a Ventilation Perfusion test to determine if the ventilation and blood flow looks like in the bottom portion of the lungs. Because there is a lot of normal lung left, they are assuming the blood flow is good and just want to confirm.

The Ventilation Perfusion test is scheculed for Monday, March 5, 2012.

If all goes well, we will be heading to Ann Arbor for more testing.