Bengaluru: Pulmonary Rehabilitation, a tailor-made respiratory and cardiac health elevation exercise regimen, is key to rebuilding normalcy in patients with complex lung surgery. This requires the highest degree of medical expertise, with limited penetration in Bangalore and India. Vaayu Chest and Sleep Specialty Center (VCSS) with its expert team has been a pioneer in Pulmonary – Cardiac Rehabilitation, and achieved significant landmarks in this important and ignored field.
To illustrate, a 63-year-old woman came to VAAYU after undergoing a left pneumonectomy, a major surgery in which an entire lung was removed. Post-surgery, she developed pneumonia, required prolonged ventilatory (machine) support, and struggled with severe breathlessness.
By the time she was referred to Pulmonary Rehabilitation, to add to her misery, she was battling high pressure to the heart (pulmonary hypertension). She could barely walk without assistance, and feared she might never return to a normal life.
At VAAYU, she began a tailored Pulmonary Rehabilitation program under the supervision of a multidisciplinary team. The initial phase focused on gentle breathing retraining and supported mobility to safely stimulate lung expansion and circulation. As her stamina improved, the program gradually incorporated endurance training, muscle strengthening, airway clearance techniques, nutrition optimisation and counselling support. All these are crucial steps to make the transition from illness to wellness. Every step was carefully balanced to avoid both under-exertion and over-exertion.
Over the next three months, her progress was transformative. The breathlessness that once made walking across a room quite a task reduced significantly. She started covering longer distances with confidence, her energy levels improved, and she regained the ability to carry out daily routines independently. Her right heart pressure also steadily reduced, reflecting meaningful improvement in heart-lung function. Faith in life came back, as the team walked this path to improvement, encouraging her at all stages
“Pulmonary Rehabilitation is often considered only after patients get worse and limited in their abilities, but in respiratory cases it works best when introduced early and consistently – earlier intervention means a better and lasting outcome. Major lung surgery affects not just the lungs but mobility, confidence and overall well-being. With a structured program with close monitoring, patients can gradually regain function and return to meaningful daily life,” said Dr. Ravindra Mehta, Founder, Vaayu Chest and Sleep Specialty Center. The path from illness to wellness can be one of the toughest to cross, and Pulmonary Rehabilitation is the key.
Her case is now seen as a good example of how guided Pulmonary rehabilitation can rebuild life after a major lung surgery, restoring mobility, independence, physical strength and emotional confidence, the key aspects of life. This needs to be done as a routine to expedite normalcy after major lung or heart surgery
