How many days does it take for a pneumothorax to heal?

Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Updated on January 26, 2025
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The healing time for a patient with pneumothorax, or how many days it takes to heal, mainly depends on when the rupture on the lung heals. In younger patients who have good elasticity and strong healing capabilities, and whose nutrition keeps up, pneumothorax tends to heal relatively easily. Especially in younger patients experiencing pneumothorax for the first time, 70-80% may heal within two to three days because the gas escapes very quickly. Once the surface rupture on the lung heals, it can be cleared within a day, leading to healing. However, if the patient is older and also has conditions like tuberculosis or chronic bronchitis, the elasticity of the lungs is poorer, making healing difficult. Like a balloon without elasticity, if it gets a rupture, it may continue to expand, complicating the prediction of healing time. Regardless of age, whether the patient is young or old, if pneumothorax recurs a second time, it is advisable to seek aggressive treatment. Patients who have experienced pneumothorax twice are at more than a 70% to 80% risk of a third occurrence. This indicates a weak spot on the lung surface, similar to a wound on the hand. If a hand wound does not heal in a few days, it can be sutured. The same applies to lung surface wounds; as it is located inside the chest cavity, a thoracoscope is needed for suturing. Thus, in normal circumstances, pneumothorax could heal in a few days, but if repeatedly delayed, aggressive treatment might be necessary.

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Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
1min 12sec home-news-image

How to treat recurrent pneumothorax for the second time?

Patients with recurrent pneumothorax, we recommend proactive minimally invasive surgical intervention. For patients experiencing their first recurrence of pneumothorax, the likelihood of a second recurrence is about 20-30%. For those who have had two episodes of pneumothorax, it indicates the presence of a small rupture on the lung, or an area that has not healed well, or is particularly weak. Thus, for patients who have had two episodes or a second occurrence of pneumothorax, if they do not receive active treatment, the probability of a third recurrence rises to about 70-80%. Whether using minimally invasive surgery or the conservative method of simple tube insertion, both are certainly burdensome for the patient. However, for patients with a second occurrence of pneumothorax, undergoing a small minimally invasive surgery, which involves a small incision of one to two centimeters under the armpit to treat the pneumothorax, dramatically reduces the likelihood of subsequent occurrences from the previous 70-80% to below 10%. Therefore, the best treatment for a second pneumothorax episode is through minimally invasive surgical intervention.

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Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
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Foods to avoid with pneumothorax

We know that the lung tissue of a normal person is like a balloon. When breathing, this balloon expands and contracts, and there are about hundreds of millions of small structures in the lungs like balloons, which we call alveolar tissue. This structure also continuously expands and contracts, expelling carbon dioxide and inhaling oxygen. For certain reasons, such as infection or due to the body shape of tall, thin young people, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchitis in elderly people, this alveolar structure can rupture, causing some alveoli to merge into a large bulla. Of course, if the large bulla eventually ruptures, the break in this balloon-like surface will leak air into the pleural cavity, causing a pneumothorax. As for the nutrition from food, we believe that patients should not refrain from certain foods, but should instead increase their intake of protein, such as eating three to four egg whites daily. If worried about high cholesterol, discard the yolk, consuming only one yolk per day, but ensuring adequate protein intake. Therefore, for patients with pneumothorax, it is not about avoiding certain foods, but about eating more of those foods to which they are not allergic, such as shrimp and beef, rather than restricting their diet.

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Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
1min 33sec home-news-image

How many days does it take for a pneumothorax to heal?

The healing time for a patient with pneumothorax, or how many days it takes to heal, mainly depends on when the rupture on the lung heals. In younger patients who have good elasticity and strong healing capabilities, and whose nutrition keeps up, pneumothorax tends to heal relatively easily. Especially in younger patients experiencing pneumothorax for the first time, 70-80% may heal within two to three days because the gas escapes very quickly. Once the surface rupture on the lung heals, it can be cleared within a day, leading to healing. However, if the patient is older and also has conditions like tuberculosis or chronic bronchitis, the elasticity of the lungs is poorer, making healing difficult. Like a balloon without elasticity, if it gets a rupture, it may continue to expand, complicating the prediction of healing time. Regardless of age, whether the patient is young or old, if pneumothorax recurs a second time, it is advisable to seek aggressive treatment. Patients who have experienced pneumothorax twice are at more than a 70% to 80% risk of a third occurrence. This indicates a weak spot on the lung surface, similar to a wound on the hand. If a hand wound does not heal in a few days, it can be sutured. The same applies to lung surface wounds; as it is located inside the chest cavity, a thoracoscope is needed for suturing. Thus, in normal circumstances, pneumothorax could heal in a few days, but if repeatedly delayed, aggressive treatment might be necessary.

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Written by Han Shun Li
Pulmonology
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Can pneumothorax recover by itself?

Pneumothorax is caused by a rupture of the pleura, allowing air to enter the pleural space. Patients often display symptoms such as coughing, chest pain, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. A lung radiograph can confirm the presence of a pneumothorax. Whether a patient with pneumothorax can recover on their own depends on the size of the pneumothorax. If it is a large pneumothorax, especially a communicative or tension pneumothorax, self-recovery is not possible, and treatment generally involves pleural puncture or pleural drainage tube placement. However, if the amount of air in the pneumothorax is small and the patient does not exhibit severe symptoms, then it is possible for the condition to resolve itself with bed rest.

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Written by Li Ying
Pulmonology
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How many days do you usually stay in the hospital for pneumothorax drainage?

This depends on whether the pneumothorax is a simple pneumothorax or is complicated by other diseases. If there are no other lung diseases present and it is just a simple pneumothorax, then typically, drainage by tube for 5 to 7 days can lead to a complete recovery and cure. However, if there are complications such as emphysema, pulmonary heart disease, pneumoconiosis, or lung infections, then it is necessary first to control the infections. During this time, the pneumothorax can easily become a communicating pneumothorax. If it lasts for more than 1 to 2 weeks, it may turn into a refractory pneumothorax. In the case of refractory pneumothorax, besides drainage, minimally invasive surgeries such as pleurodesis or pneumothorax occlusion procedures are required. These surgeries take time. Therefore, if a stubborn pneumothorax forms, especially when complications like emphysema are present, hospital stays often need to be 14 days or even longer.