Glomectomy for Asthma

¹ Thoracic Surgeon, Overholt Thoracic Clinic.

In the past three years, 69 patients with intractable asthma have been selected for treatment by glomectomy at the Overholt Thoracic Clinic. Some benefit was found in four out of five patients. Over half were improved to a marked or significant degree. These clinical results parallel closely those reported by Nakayama.

The carotid body is a chemoreceptor, sensitive to: (1) hypoxemia, (2) decreased pH, and (3) CO₂ retention. Stimulation causes hyperpnea. This is beneficial if airways are clear. In the asthmatic, such a reflex Initiates a vicious cycle. An already diminished functional capacity, due to bronchospasm. mucosal swelling, and secretion accumulation, is further reduced by hyperpnea. Removal of one carotid body apparently prevents such an unwanted sequence, as well as partially interrupts pathways of communication to the pulmonary plexus which contains bronchodilator fibers.