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

Thiruvananthapuram: The medical team at KIMS HEALTH successfully washed out the lung of a 68-year-old woman using saline fluid. The patient had been suffering from breathlessness for the past two months and her oxygen levels were low too so she was on continuous oxygen support at home. It was the detailed bronchoscopic examination done at KIMS HEALTH, which revealed a rare disease called 'Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis' (PAP). Due to this, the patient had a milky fluid in his lungs caused by the build-up of a protein-like material in the air sacs leading to a decrease in oxygen exchange.

PAP is a rare condition mostly found in those aged 30-60 affecting about one person in one lakh people worldwide and is even rarer in India. It was the detailed bronchoscopic examination done at KIMS HEALTH, which revealed that the patient was suffering from such a disease. Due to this, the patient had a build-up of protein-like material in the air sacs, which resulted in the depletion of oxygen, thereby leading to severe breathlessness.

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.