You must be wondering if it’s possible to live with one lung or not? Yes, it is! You may not be able to use one of your lungs, either because of a certain condition or disease or because of having it removed. But even with one lung, you can live a pretty normal life.
Your lungs are vital organs of your body, responsible for bringing in oxygen to the body every time you inhale and eliminating carbon dioxide when you exhale. If both of your lungs are working properly, it is a great scenario. However, it’s still possible to live a normal life with a single lung.
Are there any expected changes?
Of course, everything cannot be the same, and a missing lung can affect your physical abilities. For example, if you like running or jogging, you may not be able to do it at the same pace for now.
Your body is very smartly designed and can adapt to changes in many ways. For example, your lung may expand a little bit to adjust to the empty space. With time your body will also adjust to the missing amount of oxygen and function accordingly.
Please note that your body will not have full lung capacity like before, and you will have to change your lifestyle to manage this scenario. What will work best here is slowing down a bit on your daily activities. The way you wake up, dress up, go to work, spend your leisure time, eat, sleep, and all will need a little reduction in momentum. And soon, your mind and body will come back to normal.
Are there any risks involved?
To live a normal life with one lung is possible; however, there are some risks involved.
Pneumonectomy is a procedure to remove one of the lungs, and it shares very high complications. Here are some of the complications linked to this type of surgery:
- Reduction in blood flow
- Having respiratory issues
- Excessive bleeding
After the surgery is successfully completed, it will take some time for a person to recover fully. Full recovery without any symptoms of complication can take up to months. Even after the recovery period, the patient may have to limit their activities.
Summary
After a lung removal surgery, each person will face different after-surgery symptoms, and its severity will also differ. For a healthy person, living with one lung will not cause any significant issue. However, the same can be very challenging for a person with lung affecting issues.
In case you are facing such challenges, our doctors can provide immediate care to put you at ease. To schedule an appointment with Family Diagnostic Clinic, call at 281-351-6800.