@charlier I'm really sorry you're facing two major medical issues at once and am glad you reached out on MayoConnect for support. I know I can only deal with one medical crisis at a time; and unless my lung problem was life threatening, I'd do whatever I could to rid myself of pain before I tackled it. However, only you with the advice of your doctors and family can decide what's best for you. I'm probably showing my ignorance here on how the lungs actually work; but a question I would ask the pulmonologist is what is causing my lung to work at only 65% efficiency and what can be done about that. That is the most important lung issue I'd be concerned about. Is it being caused by the collapsed lower lobe of my lung...and can that be reversed? Is it being caused by the paralyzed left diaphragm, which plication surgery might help with. Or is it a combination of both. Would plication surgery have any impact on the collapsed lower lobe issue? What improvement in lung function could you expect if you had plication surgery?

I have a paralyzed left diaphragm but my lungs are operating within normal parameters. The thoracic surgeon who would do my plication surgery said my breathing wouldn't be restored to 100%. My condition isn't life-threatening; I pace myself; and I'm doing breathing exercises and building up my stamina to avoid having plication therapy.

When you're ready, I encourage you to read through the posts on this thread about paralyzed diaphragms, as well as other lung issues like what a collapsed lower lung lobe is, how it affects you, and what can be done about it. I've really learned a lot that has helped me in my decision-making process and hope you will too. Good luck...and please keep us posted. Nancy