To follow up as promised, I had my consultation with the surgeon at OHSU this week, but I’m not sure I have anything very helpful to report. In my case the surgery (partial lung resection) would involve removing a “wedge" of my right middle lobe where the MAC infection seems to be concentrated. That sounds a bit more than ID doctor’s description of “stripping away" this small area, (Semantics?) The surgeon said this would involve 3 small incisions, take an hour or two, and require a two to three day hospital stay (until the chest tube could be removed). I would then be restricted from lifting anything over 10 pounds for six weeks. He said it is pretty minimal as far as surgeries go.

Since I have only been on the antibiotics since January, and the CT scan in August already shows improvement, the surgeon recommends that I complete the year of antibiotics, see what the next CT scan looks like and consult again. So…not ruled out.

The purpose would be, as Dr. Winthrop had said, to keep the MAC in that spot where the antibiotics have trouble reaching it, from spreading to other parts of my lungs. In other words it would not improve my immediate condition/symptoms, but would hopefully prevent further spread.

Anna