Lung procedures
I am in the process of seeing if I qualify for Zephyr Valves and/or Lung Column Reduction surgery. I should know in the next week and would Appreciate any advice or experiences anyone can offer. I'm a 66 yr old female in otherwise fair health.
Hi Tracy, and thanks for your post. There are, in fact, several of our community members who have undergone or are being considered for pulmonary intervention procedures. These include, as you mentioned, endobronchial valve placement, lung volume reduction surgery and even lung transplantation.
While I am hopeful, these members will see your post and respond accordingly, I thought you might be interested in reading the material we already have posted (right here on our COPD.net community website), which focus on this type of intervention.
For your convenience, here is a link to several of those articles: https://copd.net/search?s=Endobronchial%20valve%20zephyr%20valve.
I do hope you find the information to be helpful for you in a practical way.
Please do check back and keep us apprised of your progress.
Wishing you well,
Leon (site moderator COPD.net)
Hi Leon, so glad to see more people getting info about the valves. Such a game changer! I agree, whirledpeas - getting all the information out is what this is all about!
We'll keep on keepin' on!!
Leon (site moderator COPD.net)
Thank you SO much for the link. I do get the monthly(?) notices from cops.net, but it's been fairly recent and I don't recall much said about the procedires. Thanks again AND this is a Wonderful resource and place for knowledge!! TY!
Hi again, Tracy - it is our pleasure. That is really a large part of what our community is all about - we are happy to lend support and encouragement for our community members.
Thanks for your kind words - it is WE who should be thanking YOU for being an active and contributing member here in the community.
Please know you are always welcome here! If there is anything else we can assist you with, please let me or any other moderator / team member know.
Warm regards,
Leon (site moderator COPD.net)
Hi Tracy, I am a 73 yo woman who had the valves installed in Feb of 2020. I have level 4 COPD. I have had a wonderful experience with them, After 3 years of 24/7 oxygen use, I now normally use oxygen only for sleeping. The improvement is fairly gradual, over three months, but the overall effect is dramatic. I highly recommend the procedure. There is no recovery and no downtime. They are placed during a bronchoscopy, which takes about 40 minutes. I was hospitalized Monday to Thursday, mainly because it was such a new procedure.
Best wishes to you, and I hope you are able to qualify. It will greatly improve your life.thank you So much for your reply. Exactly what I needed know! Haven't yet heard or read that the results are gradual! GREAT to know! 💌
I was a candidate until they discovered two large bullae so I had a Bullectomy instead, which had great benefit for a couple of years. Today the lung capacity is declining again. I wonder if any of you had a Bullectomy, and whether I’m still a possible valve candidate?
that's a great question and I'm sure if anyone has had this procedure they will chime in. In the meantime I did want to ask, have you had the chance to ask your doctor about this to see if you are still a candidate? If not, since they know you and your history best might be able to provide some clarification for you. All the best, Sam S. (COPD.net, team member).
