Diseases & Conditions
Collapsed lung
The lungs are made of delicate tissue
A collapsed lung, or pneumothorax, involves the collapse of the tissues of part or all of one lung so that oxygen cannot be absorbed into the blood stream in the normal way.
If the oxygen supply to the vital organs is seriously diminished, life will be put at risk. Death can occur within minutes.
In George Harrison's case, the condition was caused by air escaping into the chest, and preventing the lung from inflating.
Each time the patient takes a breath, the problem gets worse.
Harrison was lucky, the knife wound only penetrated about one inch, and tissue damage was not as severe as it could have been.
Doctors were able to treat him successfully by draining escaped air away from his chest. This was down by inserting a tube called a chest drain to allow air to escape from the chest cavity.
Symptoms
A sudden, major collapse of the lung causes:
Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Rapid breathing
Shock (severe weakness, paleness of skin, rapid heartbeat)
Dizziness
A more gradual minor collapes causes a cough and fever.
Causes
In the case of George Harrison, the tissues of the lung were directly damaged by a knife.
More usually, the condition is caused by an obstruction of the small or large lung air passages.
This can be caused by:
Thick mucus plugs from infection or other disease
Tumors in the air passages
Tumors or blood vessels outside the air passages, causing pressure on airways
Inhaled objects, such as small toys or peanuts
Prolonged chest or abdominal surgery with general anaesthetic
Chest injury or fractured ribs
Risk factors
The main risk factors for collapsed lung are:
Smoking
Illness that has lowered resistance or weakened the patient
Chronic obstructive lung disease, including emphysema and bronchiectasis
Use of drugs that depress alertness or consciousness, such as sedatives, barbiturates, tranquilizers, or alcohol
Complications
Complications can include pneumonia, small lung abcess and permanent scarring of the lung tissue.
A collapsed lung caused by a physical injury such as a stab wound may also be associated with bleeding into the chest cavity.
Infections may also result from the wound because the weapons are generally not sterile.