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119
Men Women
Thoracoplasty 60 32
Lobectomy 17 24
Segmental resection 9 5
Pneumonectomy 7 6
Decortication of lung 1 1
Plombage 2 2
Lobectomy and thoracoplasty 1 5
Pericardectomy 1 1
Extra Pleural Pneumothorax 0 1
Bilateral resection 1 2
Bilateral plombage 0 3
Bilateral thoracoplasty 3 0
With modern methods of treatment, including chemotherapy
and earlier diagnosis, the time that a patient needs to be in hospital
has been very much diminished. For patients not needing surgical
treatment the average time is now about four months, and for those
needing surgery 9—12 months.
There are a small number of patients, specially selected because
of their limited disease and non-infectivity, who are being treated by
chemotherapy without rest; that is they are being allowed to continue
working. The results so far are very promising.
Chronic Pulmonary Tuberculosis
This condition used to be the greatest problem of the Chest
Physician, both from the point of view of managing the patient and
secondly preventing his spreading infection.
Six years ago, that is before the days of chemotherapy, there
were never less than 100 chronic sputum positive cases attending the
Clinic. In 1955 there were only 68 chronic cases of whom only 24
were sputum positive. Most of these chronic cases are on long term
chemotherapy. Some heal up remarkably well and then cease to
be called chronic cases which accounts for the fall from 100 to 68.
Of these latter 68, 24 although still sputum positive are very much
better in themselves and because the amount of sputum they produce
is considerably diminished their infectivity is much less. The 44
remaining sputum negative chronic cases are an interesting end
result of chemotherapy in that although the patient may continue
to have cavities in his lungs these have apparently been sterilised.
Whether they will remain so can only be determined by several years
of careful observation.