Pulmonary Resection and Streptomycin in the Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

¹ The Thoracic Section, Surgical Service, and the Tuberculosis Section, Medical Service, Veterans Administration, Medical Teaching Group, Kennedy Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee.

1) Pulmonary resection with concomitant streptomycin therapy, is a valuable method of treatment for suitable types of pulmonary tuberculosis.

2) stability appears to be the most vital factor in the evaluation of a patient for this procedure.

3) Preliminary courses of streptomycin make surgery feasible for some of the poor risk cases. Correct evaluation of stability, however, is thereby made more difficult.

4) Resistance, contralateral disease, and the amount of lung to be resected are other factors that appear to be of importance in the evaluation of suitable cases.

5) Resection has not decreased the necessity of prolonged bed-rest rest and treatment but has made it more important and essential. Prompt active treatment of complications is possible only in co-operative patients who remain under medical care.

6) Resection is not considered to be a substitute for, or to be in competition with, recognized collapse procedures. It has been used where these procedures have failed or could be predicated to fail.