What does old lesions in both lungs mean

In clinical practice, we see many patients asking doctors what diseases the chronic lesions of both lungs are. Chronic lesions of both lungs refer to lung calcification or fibrous changes caused by lung diseases. This generally does not cause bad effects on the body, but it is recommended to go to the hospital for regular check-ups. If there is no obvious change after multiple check-ups, it is more likely to be benign. This article introduces the relevant content. If you are interested, let’s take a look.

Generally speaking, old lung lesions are mostly traces of past lesions left behind by incomplete absorption of inflammatory or tuberculosis lesions, or lesions that have been completely absorbed. If you do not have any discomfort symptoms at present, generally no special treatment is required. You can also go to the hospital for tuberculin tests or sputum tests to rule out tuberculosis lesions, etc. There is no need to have too much psychological burden. Pay attention to getting more rest, quitting smoking and drinking, and doing appropriate physical exercise. However, some patients may experience recurrence of the disease or secondary tumors based on previous chronic lesions. Therefore, if there are obvious symptoms of lung discomfort, chest CT scans can be performed regularly to compare whether there are obvious changes in previous lesions and to determine whether further treatment is needed.

Severe chronic lung lesions can lead to damage to lung function. For example, severe pleurisy can lead to calcification of the pleural cavity, shrinkage of the lungs, compensatory emphysema in the contralateral healthy lung, and dyspnea. For mild lesions, no special treatment is required, but severe lesions require treatment according to the situation.

A common disease of old lung lesions is chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. The prognosis of pulmonary tuberculosis can be divided into recovery, fibrosis, calcification, and finally the formation of tuberculoma and cavity. A small amount of fibrosis has no effect on the human body. However, severe calcification or fibrosis can lead to tracheal contracture and bronchial dilatation, causing compensatory enlargement of the healthy lung on the other side, forming emphysema, and symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease such as coughing, sputum, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.