I had unilateral LVRS on Jan 15, 2020 at Stanford. I actually had the Zephyr valve first in my left lung but one of the valves migrated and my doctor felt the surgery would be the best thing to do. I did have a complication where I had an air leak for two weeks but have gotten over that. My chest is no longer tight when I breathe, I am breathing better I’m able to start exercising and will be doing pulmonary rehab which is crucial. I wish the valves would have worked because I felt immediately better and was breathing better. I have high hopes for my surgery outcome as it has only been less than two months. I will keep everybody informed

Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS) is still done in some centers. Here's a place where you can get more information: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/science/national-emph...

Essentially the surgery removes the upper lobes of the lungs, allowing (in theory at least) the lower lob es to raise up off the diaphragm, thus allowing for better breathing. When the procedure was first done, they had no idea who would do best, and a lot of people had the surgery and it did no good or made them worse. They changed the criteria and now to qualify, you must have more damage in the upper lobes than the lower, have reduced exercise capacity and an intolerance for exercise. There may even be additional parameters in some centers.

The valves, both the Zephyr and Spiration valves, were developed with the idea that they would essentially do the same thing as LVRS without being cut. The idea is that they place the valves in areas where air is trapped, they let the air out and seal the area so you can't trap air there again. Devices like these valves, vents, coils and even using steam and glue have been clinically trialed in the US for over 20 years. Many of them have been used in Europe and other places around the world for the last 10 - 12 years. The first that were approved by the FDA were approved in 2018 and early 2019.

I know people who had LVRS years ago and have done pretty well. The typical patient sees at least some improvement in ability to breathe, less sob and more ability to exercise and have a life; most for at least five years and some for as much as 10 years before things begin to deteriorate again. Some people don't do as well and some still don't do well at all, so there is some risk, and it still involves major surgery, though they can do a lot of it microscopically. Results from US valve placements are still pretty much distributed by the centers that perform the procedures and we don't have a sense of what's happening nationally or in general.

Not all centers that perform the procedure are created equal, in that those that participated in the clinical trials have a longer track record and more people who are trained and experienced in the procedure. If you're thinking of having it done, you want to know how many of the procedures the docs have done and what their individual track records are as well as the track record for the center as a whole. You also want to know how carefully they are following the protocols for evaluating patients and if they've added parameters as they've gained experience.

Hope this helps........

@A MyCOPDTeam Member
I can not say I know a lot about it but my close friend and former accountant had it done last May , he got infections and nearly lost his life but managed to eventually recover and is doing quite well now , he has worked out of his home on line for years and was able to return to work full time about 60 days .
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I am definitely feeling better every day now, since the operation I’ve been exercising and doing weights at home. It’s pretty amazing how different I feel and breathe! I’m able to go without my oxygen for about an hour at a time now, just slowly weaning off. Will post more later, I hope you all are safe and please stay healthy!

Thanks for the info I guess I have a big choice to make