QUESTION: I have been diagnosed as having Bullous Emphysema (severe) and have been unable to obtain information regarding the disease.
The American Lung Association advised me that they have no literature available and at this point I don't know where to look.
Could you please tell me about this disease and how it differs from emphysema?
ANSWER: All types of emphysema, yours included, belong to a larger classification of lung disease, called chronic obstructive lung disease or COPD for short.
Under this heading you would find information about chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive bronchitis, persistent asthma, chronic asthmatic bronchitis as well as emphysema, and chronic emphysema.
They are all interrelated, and many of the mechanisms that create problems in one type of illness are found in the others as well.
Their development seems determined by an individual's susceptibility, and the exposure to certain elements that can precipitate the illness.
Emphysema is a condition in which the tiny air sacs (alveolar) which are located at the ends of the tubes that carry air to the lung tissues (bronchioles) are larger than normal, due to the partial destruction of their walls.
This may be the result of frequent or chronic inflammation, and certainly can be the result of smoking.
Large alveolar sacs with damaged walls are not as efficient in transferring the oxygen in the inhaled air over to the blood vessels, and that leads to a reduced supply of oxygen for the entire body.
In advanced cases and severe cases such as yours, bullae may develop.
A bullous is nothing more than a very large sac, a "balloon" if you will, that develops when many enlarged alveolar sacs unite into one single unit large enough to be detected on a chest x-ray.
Such bullae (the plural form of the word) may be either a solitary finding or part of the general disease process found throughout the lung, and may be found in other types of COPD.
There is no special treatment for this type of emphysema, but the presence of bullae should make you take all your doctor's advice very seriously.
Incidentally, my sources at the American Lung Association tell me they do have a Fact Sheet on Emphysema, which contains additional information that may be helpful to you.
The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.
