Medical Study Says Posthorax Vest Reduces Lung Complications

Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden

After noticing that collapsing of the lung (technically known as atelectasis) was lower in post-cardiac surgery patients who used the Posthorax vest, doctors at the Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden (Jon Torkelsona, Hans Jonssonb, Peter Lindholma, Sven Nyréna) conducted a clinical study to determine precisely what effect the vest might have on preventing this postoperative complication.

Atelectasis—collapsing of the lung—happens in approximately 7% of the cases following open-heart surgery. The lung walls begin filling up with water at the bottom and then, when it is full, collapses.

Another potential problem caused by this filling fluid at the bottom of the lung is that it can cause infection, resulting in pneumonia, which can lead to severe complications after heart surgery.

Although some degree of atelectasis was visible in almost all participants in the study, the incidence of maximal atelectasis (complete or near-complete lung collapse) was significantly lower in male participants in the group that wore the Posthorax vest.

The primary method of combating postoperative atelectasis after uncomplicated open-heart surgery has been physical therapy for the chest, often combined with breathing exercises.

With the Posthorax vest, surgeons now have an additional option to help reduce the chances of maximal atelectasis.

The Posthorax vest has also been proven in multiple independent studies to greatly reduce the incidence of severe complications in wound healing after open-heart surgery.

Improvement in recovery after open-heart surgery means less additional hospital costs. At the Vienna Heart Center in 2012, it was discovered that, per 1,000 patients who used the vest, treatment costs were reduced by €500,000.

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