The ICU team at Imam Al-Hujjah Hospital saved the life of an elderly man who suffered a vasogenic shock. Dr. Hussein Al-Haj, head of the Intensive Care Unit, stated that the patient had hypoxemia despite receiving the highest oxygen level of the ventilator. The patient immediately underwent a chest x-ray which revealed that he had partial atelectasis (collapse) of the left lung as a result of air sacs (alveoli) within the lung becoming filled with fluid.
Al-Haj added: “We informed the cardiothoracic surgeon at once because this was a life-threatening emergency. We prepared the patient for bronchoscopy which was performed by a team of renowned physicians consisting of Dr. Feras Fahham (cardiothoracic surgeon), Dr. Khalid Khashan (otolaryngologist), and myself, in addition to our expert resident doctors, anesthesia technicians, and nurses.”
The two-stage surgery lasted four hours, and the challenge lied in the removal of the coagulated fluid blocking the airways as it could have easily slid into the tiny air sacs of the lungs, but thanks to the efforts of the surgical team, the coagulation was extracted via the tracheal tube which was replaced with a new tube. The team made sure that the air sacs and airways were free of any built-up fluid. The time from diagnosis to treatment was only 6 hours. The patient’s oxygen level stabilized and his left lung returned to its normal size and position. The patient is in good health now.
