Therapeutic Whole Lung Lavage for Alveolar Proteinosis

THERAPEUTIC WHOLE LUNG LAVAGE (WLL) is often carried out in patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), where typically large volumes of normal saline are instilled into and drained out of the lungs. 1 Awab A. Khan M.S. Youness H.A. Whole lung lavage- technical details, challenges and management of complications. J Thorac Dis. 2017; 9: 1697-1706 Crossref PubMed Scopus (33) Google Scholar , 2 Indira K.S. Rajesh V. Darsana V. et al. Whole lung lavage: The salvage therapy for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. Indian J Chest Dis Allied Sci. 2007; 49: 41-44 Google Scholar Perioperative management of these patients is challenging and includes a multidisciplinary approach involving anesthesiologists, pulmonologists, and critical care physicians. The authors report a case of PAP in a young male where therapeutic WLL of the right lung was carried out at 2 different times and discuss the unique pathophysiology entailed as a result of this procedure.