If you are suffering from aspergilloma of lung and frequently cough out blood, amount of which sometimes becomes significant, please do not sit idle, immediately consult an experienced thoracic surgeon, otherwise your life will be in danger if ever a catastrophic bleeding occurs. The permanent and successful treatment of aspergilloma of lung is surgery, this fact should be understood very clearly. Unless the part of the lung destroyed by aspergilloma is not taken out of the chest, bleeding will never stop during coughing. This operation is called lobectomy. The small operations like removal of fungal ball or only cleaning of the dead hollow space and filling the dead space with medicines and muscles are not reliably effective. The disadvantages of these small operations are two: firstly it is not a permanent treatment and secondly it increases the possibility of creating pus and infection inside the chest. These small operations are justified only in special conditions where patient is not medically fit for the major operation of lobectomy, for example a very weak, old and malnourished transplant patient admitted in an intensive care unit. This small operation is called ‘cavernostomy’.
Dr. K. K. Pandey is a Senior Consultant in Thoracic & Endothoracic Surgery at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, with 30+ years’ experience in lung cancer surgery, chest tumors, pleural diseases, VATS, esophageal surgery and minimally invasive thoracic procedures. He is also a dedicated health writer and educator.