Lung volume reduction surgery can improve quality of life for patients who must be on oxygen because of emphysema.

Two million Americans have emphysema, a lung disease that causes shortness of breath and limits physical activity. Many people with severe emphysema must carry an oxygen tank with them as they go about their daily lives. Lung volume reduction surgery can help some people who have tried all other treatments, says Dr. Stephen Hazelrigg, professor and chair of the cardiothoracic surgery division at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield. He explains how the surgery helps people:

SOUND BITE: "Well, the benefit, the main reason we do the surgery is to improve their exercise capacity and allow them to do the things they are unable to do. Many patients who come to us are unable or have a difficult time bathing themselves or doing simple daily functions. After they surgery, they are able to do all these things. There's a range of how much improvement they get, but the majority of patients are able to do all daily functions after that. Also a good percentage of the patients are able to get off of the oxygen . . ."

Dr. Hazelrigg says emphysema is primarily caused by smoking and that all patients considering this surgery must have stopped smoking. He says a recent study commissioned by Medicare found that group of patients with emphysema clearly benefited from the surgery.

SOUND BITE: "It's a group that have predominantly disease in the upper portions of the lung and it's a group that is fairly significantly debilitated to where their exercise capacity has been decreased significantly. And for that group of patients ah in this study, there was both an improvement in their ability to exercise and an improvement in that subset in survival, so they actually lived longer.

Because of the significant results of the study, it is expected that Medicare will resume payment for lung volume reduction surgery within the next few months. SIU School of Medicine has been doing lung volume reduction for nearly 10 years. For more information, talk to your physician or call SIU School of Medicine.