[Follow-up results of cases treated with bilateral surgical treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis]

Follow up results of 187 cases who were employed bilateral surgical treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis in author's hospital from 1948 to 1978 were studied. One hundred and eighty seven cases were divided into two groups: one was followed shorter than 5 years (control group, 90 cases) and the other was followed longer than 5 years (subject group, 97 cases). For those 187 cases 578 operation were performed, which occupied 9.3% of all operations done in the hospital during the same period. In the subject group, preoperative disease was more advanced, preoperative positive rate of tubercle bacilli was higher and preoperative %VC was lower than those in the control group. However, in the subject group success rate was 79.4%, negative sputum rate was 85.6%, positive sputum rate was 5.2%, mortality rate was 9.3% and postoperative complication rate was 10.3%. These results were better than those in the control group. Results of all bilateral surgical cases were almost the same as results of pneumonectomy cases that showed positive sputum, which were reported in a collective study by Japan Tuberculosis Research Committee. However, low pulmonary function case of less than 39%VC reached to a large rate of 42.1%. Bilateral surgical treatment for new tuberculosis case will not be necessary if patient receive a regular initial intensive chemotherapy with regimens including RFP.