Gas exchange and exercise tolerance following bullectomy

This study evaluates the physiological responses to giant bullectomy. A 42-year-old female with bilateral giant bullae presented with dyspnoea and exercise limitation. At baseline and 3 months after bullectomy she had tests of lung function; exercise capacity via a symptom-limited cycle test and a 6-min walk test (6MWT). Quality of life (QoL) and gas exchange using the multiple inert gas elimination technique (MIGET) were also assessed. There were significant improvements in pulmonary function following surgery with the FEF25-75% predicted increasing from 16 to 96. The 6MWT increased by 10% and the peak leg work capacity by 48%. A MIGET measure of the distribution of perfusion (Log SDQ) fell from 0.52 to 0.36. There was also radiological improvement in hyperinflation and diaphragmatic configuration. The QoL total score decreased from 56 to 25. This patient demonstrated significant improvements in exercise tolerance, gas exchange and QoL following bullectomy.