Radioaerosol inhalation and perfusion imaging studies in immediate postoperative phase after lobectomy

In order to determine the changes in pulmonary ventilation-perfusion imaging after lobectomies, we examined 11 patients using radioaerosol inhalation and perfusion scintigraphies, before and after the operations. We employed 99mTc-labeled albumin aerosol generated by a jet nebulizer for the inhalation imaging, and 99mTc-labeled macroaggregated albumin for the perfusion imaging, respectively. Prior to the operations, there were no (major) defects of imagings on the lung fields. Immediately after the operations, however, we could not detect any abnormal findings on chest roentgenograms, we found detects of imagings on the lung fields in either inhalation or perfusion scintigraphy whose area were mismatching. It took more than 3 weeks for these defects of imagings to disappear. In conclusion, these findings suggest that postoperative hypoxemia might be occurred by these mismatchings.