- With Mayo Clinic emeritus internist
Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D.
Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D.
Dr. Edward Rosenow III sees a natural link between the Information Age and health care as a way to promote better health. Dr. Rosenow, a Columbus, Ohio, native, is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease and worked in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. He retired from clinical practice in 1996 after 30 years' service at Mayo Clinic.
"It has always been my feeling that the better informed the patient is about his or her body and its functions, the better the patient-physician partnership," he says. "The informed patient is in turn more compliant with the physician's recommendations and better able to make intelligent decisions about health care needs."
Dr. Rosenow is a former Arthur M. and Gladys D. Gray Professor of Medicine and former chair of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Mayo Clinic. He was also president of the American College of Chest Physicians, consultant to NASA on the Space Station Freedom project, president of the Mayo Clinic staff, a regent with the American College of Chest Physicians and program director of the internal medicine residency program at Mayo Clinic.
During his distinguished career, Dr. Rosenow was a five-time Teacher of the Year in internal medicine and inducted into the Mayo Fellows Hall of Fame of Outstanding Teachers.
In 1994, he won the Distinguished Mayo Clinician Award from Mayo Clinic staff and in 1995 was honored with the Ralph O. Claypoole Sr. Memorial Award for Lifetime Dedication to Patient Care by the American College of Physicians. He was named to a mastership by the American College of Physicians in 1998 and that year also won the Mayo Foundation Distinguished Alumnus Award. He is also a Master Fellow in the American College of Chest Physicians. In 2008, a professorship was established in his name — the Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D., Mayo Professorship in the Art of Medicine.
Dr. Rosenow has contributed to 156 publications, including 48 book chapters and one co-authored book.
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Question
Atelectasis (collapsed lung): How is it treated?
What is the treatment for a collapsed lung?
Answer
from Edward C. Rosenow III, M.D.
Treatment of a collapsed lung (atelectasis) depends on the cause and severity of the collapse.
Atelectasis may be due to compression of the lung tissue or obstruction of the air passages (bronchi). The collapse may affect only a small part of the lung or the whole lung. Pneumothorax and pleural effusion can cause the lung to partially collapse without closing off any of the airway. A partially collapsed lung may slowly re-expand without treatment. But a severe collapse of a whole lung can be life-threatening and requires emergency medical attention.
Treatment of atelectasis may include:
- Removing obstructions from the airway by suctioning mucus or bronchoscopy
- Performing deep-breathing exercises (incentive spirometry)
- Clapping (percussion) on the chest to loosen mucus
- Positioning the body so that the head is lower than the chest (postural drainage) to drain mucus
If an underlying condition such as a tumor is the cause of atelectasis, treatment will also be directed at managing the condition. In the case of a tumor, for instance, treatment may include surgery, radiation or chemotherapy drugs.
If you experience the signs and symptoms of atelectasis, including shortness of breath, chest pain and cough, seek emergency medical attention.
