[History of surgical treatment for emphysema]

Great efforts have been paid to the effective surgical managements of diffused emphysema in the past century, which can be grossly divided into three stages, namely, the early exploration, lung transplantation and lung volume reduction surgery. Lung transplantation, developed in the 80's, and especially lung volume reduction surgery, which was developed in the 90's, was recognized as the most effective therapy for terminal stage of emphysema, which offers a new approach for the victims of emphysema.