Chest tube scars/problems (fracture, pain, pregnant, infection)

[doglover29]

Has anyone ever had a chest tube put in, and had issues with the scar afterwards? I have a chest tube scar that has caused all sorts of problems. I had significant pain and weird feelings around it for years, and those finally went away but I think I may have some other problems from it as well. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced similar problems.

[momofpcdkid]

I Have Experienced Some Of The Same Issues Poat Suergury. I Had Chest Reconstrucion Performed In The Mid '80's And I Can Recall The Discomfort I Went Through For Yrs. After They Were Removed. All I Can Tell You Is That It Takes Along Time For The Nerves To Recover And Regenerate In These Areas And Until They Do You Just Have To Deal With The Discomfort. I Wish I Had Better Advise.

[nay624]

never had one....assisted in putting them in....

can you describe strange feeling you now have, how long ago was it...left or right
side or over your heart...how long was it in for??? was it put in in a emergency, or during surgery...??

NayRN

[frogandtoad]

I've had chest tubes on 3 occasions. The last, along with a VAT, was about 10 years ago. All were left side, emergency, for spontaneous pneumos. The last was a tension pneumo.

I have not had any trouble with the scar, although the docs assured me I would not notice anything different before/after the VAT when breathing and that is not true. I can still feel a sort of "tug" inside, like on or near the lung (wherever the nerves there are --I have no idea) every time I take a deep breath or yawn. I'm a runner so I feel it quite often. They should not speak of that which they don't know.....

Don't know if that's at all helpful, but man do chest tubes hurt!

[MaddoxPappy]

I have had a chest tube put in for spontaneous pnuemo and ever since I've been messed up too. Have you had any recent problems?

[anadyr21]

Originally Posted by frogandtoad

I've had chest tubes on 3 occasions. The last, along with a VAT, was about 10 years ago. All were left side, emergency, for spontaneous pneumos. The last was a tension pneumo.

I have not had any trouble with the scar, although the docs assured me I would not notice anything different before/after the VAT when breathing and that is not true. I can still feel a sort of "tug" inside, like on or near the lung (wherever the nerves there are --I have no idea) every time I take a deep breath or yawn. I'm a runner so I feel it quite often. They should not speak of that which they don't know.....

Don't know if that's at all helpful, but man do chest tubes hurt!

Could be from adhesions or excess fibrotic tissue in the area. Sometimes it goes away, sometimes it doesn't.

Has anyone ever had a chest tube put in, and had issues with the scar afterwards? I have a chest tube scar that has caused all sorts of problems. I had significant pain and weird feelings around it for years, and those finally went away but I think I may have some other problems from it as well. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced similar problems.

If you're referring to the tingly and numb feeling at the same time, it's generally a sign of the nerve endings attempting to grow and synapse once again. Yes, that can last for months or years, and for some people, the sensation never really goes away.

What other types of problems are you having?

[doglover29]

I learned that my problems probably are not from the chest tube scars, and are instead scar tissue in my pleural space from the infection I had. It's called "fibrothorax" and basically means that I have scar tissue adhering my lung to my pleural space, or something along those lines. I have never been able to take a full, deep breath without feeling like my lung just isn't expanding normally, for almost 15 years now (since the infection happened). I thought this was due to the chest tube scarring, but now I have learned it is most likely due to scarring from the infection itself.

My main concern is what would happen if I were to get pregnant. I have never been pregnant, but I fear I could not maintain a pregnancy because of this fibrothorax problem. Many women experience shortness of breath in pregnancy, and I can't fully expand my lungs now b/c of this problem, so I worry that if I did get pregnant I would experience significant problems.

[anadyr21]

Originally Posted by doglover29

I learned that my problems probably are not from the chest tube scars, and are instead scar tissue in my pleural space from the infection I had. It's called "fibrothorax" and basically means that I have scar tissue adhering my lung to my pleural space, or something along those lines. I have never been able to take a full, deep breath without feeling like my lung just isn't expanding normally, for almost 15 years now (since the infection happened). I thought this was due to the chest tube scarring, but now I have learned it is most likely due to scarring from the infection itself.

My main concern is what would happen if I were to get pregnant. I have never been pregnant, but I fear I could not maintain a pregnancy because of this fibrothorax problem. Many women experience shortness of breath in pregnancy, and I can't fully expand my lungs now b/c of this problem, so I worry that if I did get pregnant I would experience significant problems.

Yep, fancy way of saying adhesions. Have you had a full range of pulmonary functions tests? The one where they stick you in a plastic box and pant like a dog and do other outrageous things? Generally, as long as your alveolar ventilation rate (AVR) and total lung capacity (TLC), among other things, isn't extremely compromised a pregnancy shouldn't be an issue, unless you happen to carry high, gain a lot of weight, or are having multiples.

[doglover29]

Originally Posted by anadyr21

Yep, fancy way of saying adhesions. Have you had a full range of pulmonary functions tests? The one where they stick you in a plastic box and pant like a dog and do other outrageous things? Generally, as long as your alveolar ventilation rate (AVR) and total lung capacity (TLC), among other things, isn't extremely compromised a pregnancy shouldn't be an issue, unless you happen to carry high, gain a lot of weight, or are having multiples.

Yes, I have had one pulmonary function test recently--but it was just in the pulmonologist's office with breathing into a tube. It was normal. I have not heard of other PFTs. Where would I go to get those?

Even though the PFTs were normal, subjectively, I am very bothered by the adhesions.

I still think pregnancy is an iffy proposition, because who knows if I will get pregnant with twins, carry high or gain a lot of weight?

[Briebo21]

I'm a 23 year old female... Around 9 months ago I was in a automobile accident... After sustaining a C2 fracture and broken ribs.. and I also had a punctured lung.. The doctors put a total of 3 chest tubes in. The first two were placed in the wrong spot, and they scraped my left lung, which caused me to hemorrage. The third one worked properly.. and in three weeks was removed...

Since the accident I have received extensive therapies... and now 9 months later I am back in the ER because I am having quite a bit of trouble breathing. There is some pain when I inhale.. and it is very hard to sleep... The doctors did a spiral CT of my lung.. and said that there was minimal scarring.. and it looks as though the lower base of it had collapsed a bit. There was nothing that they could do.. But my blood levels..(dimer?) suggested that I was a candidate for a pulmonary embellism... (I was a .44---- P.E starts at .45)

I am due to travel in a few weeks internationally... Should I be worried? Is shallow breathing and pain normal after my history?