Successful non-invasive positive pressure ventilation therapy to acute respiratory failure after volume reduction surgery for patient with severe emphysema: report of a case

A 55-year-old man consulted our hospital because of short of breath. Chest CT showed low attenuation areas and we diagnosed his illness as a chronic respiratory failure by chronic lung empysema. He was perfomed bilateral lung volume reduction surgery (VRS), after a few days who was in serious acute respiratory failure. He was treated by non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) for those. After that general condition and arterial blood gas data was improved. NIPPV may be one of the effective tools for acute respiratory failure after VRS.