Doctors at KIMS Health wash 68-year-old woman's lungs with saline to treat rare lung disorder

The protein deposits were cleared through a complex therapeutic procedure, Whole Lung Lavage (WLL) which was performed by the combined efforts of the Interventional Pulmonology Unit- Department of Respiratory Medicine and Department of Anaesthesia, KIMSHEALTH, Trivandrum. “This is an extremely rare disease, often seen in people with genetic disorders where surfactant protein -which normally is needed to maintain patency of air passages, gets excessively accumulated in lung alveoli and leads to serious respiratory issues,” said Dr. Ajay Ravi, Consultant Interventional Pulmonologist. The chronically affected lung was connected to a circuit to pump in fluid which helps to wash it, whereas the patient breathes through the other lung which was attached to a ventilator, fluid was pumped into the lungs through the circuit and was later collected back after washing the lungs. The cycle was repeated with more than 10 liters of fluid, until the returning fluid became free of protein deposits, and the whole process was performed under anesthesia. "The patient has recovered after the procedure and is now able to breathe comfortably without oxygen support. One of her lungs is clear now and she will undergo the same procedure for the other lung after 2 to 3 weeks," Dr. Ajay Ravi added. Dr. Ameer K.A, Senior Consultant, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Cardiac Anesthetists, Dr. S. Subash and Dr. Swapna Sasidharan were also part of the procedure.