Duration of pneumonia after surgery

It is extremely difficult to make statements about the duration of pneumonia after surgery. If the course of the disease is uncomplicated, if the body responds quickly to the antibiotics administered and if the patient’s immune system is intact, one can assume a duration of two to three weeks. However, as the previous section has shown, a variety of factors have an influence on the course of the disease.

A considerably prolonged course is possible in patients who suffer from previous lung diseases. These primarily include chronic bronchitis and COPD. Both diseases are characterized by a permanent inflammation of the lower respiratory tract, which results in increased mucus production and a reduced self-cleaning function of the bronchi.Here the body has only a limited ability to fight the bacteria responsible for pneumonia on its own.

The duration of pneumonia after surgery is often considerably prolonged. If patients are artificially ventilated for a long time after an operation, this increases both the probability and the duration of pneumonia. During long-term ventilation, the weakened respiratory muscles are no longer able to transport mucus out of the bronchial tubes with a strong cough.

Self-cleaning is also impaired by the ventilation tubes used. In addition, the risk of infection with antibiotic-resistant hospital germs increases. In intensive care units, especially with respiratory patients, particularly long courses of pneumonia after surgery are therefore observed.

Pneumonia after heart surgery/bypass surgery

As explained above, the patient’s condition plays a crucial role in managing pneumonia after surgery. Cardiac surgery is often a major procedure requiring prolonged ventilation, possibly including post-operative ventilation in the intensive care unit. In addition, the patient clientele often includes people with multiple pre-existing conditions and long medical histories.

The prevention and treatment of pneumonia must therefore be carried out with great care by doctors and nursing staff. By using antibiotics, which can also be used preventively, and by means of adequate physiotherapy, pneumonia after heart surgery can often be avoided or treated well. One of the most frequently performed heart operations worldwide is the so-called bypass operation.

In this operation, calcified sections of the coronary vessels are bypassed by creating bypasses by inserting the body’s own veins or arteries. The operation must be performed while opening the chest at the open heart. A cardiac arrest is necessary for the surgeon to work properly.

The heart is replaced by a heart-lung machine for the duration of the operation. Although bypass surgery is now performed daily and routinely in Germany, the patient must be able to recover sufficiently from this major operation afterwards. As with other heart operations, pneumonia is a dangerous complication that must be treated immediately and intensively