International flight after spontaneous pneumothorax

Posted , 3 users are following.

I had a spontaneous pneumothorax in March of 2016 on my left lung. I had to get a chest tube put in and been fine since then (knock on wood). I want to travel out of the country but am a little nervous. I got a CT done and the lungs seem fine my primary care doctor is a leaving it upon me. I am seeing a specialist soon but curious to see if anybody has traveled out of the country on an international flight and how they did. I did have some scarred tissue but it could be from the chest tube that was inserted. Also, did anybody feel any pressure at take off or landing.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    hi , a few years back my son had a collapse in the APRIL , he got drain and was in hospital for 2 weeks . That october we flew 14 hours to san francisco . we were all very nervous . luckily he was great on going flight and return .

    But 6 weeks after returning he had bilateral collapses . He ended up with 3 operations between December and January .

    I dont think the flight caused it .

    Since operations hes also had 8 hour flights and been great .

    • Posted

      Thanks for sharing. Do you remember if he felt anything on the flight? I am glad he is doing better.

    • Posted

      I had a collapse on my left side in April of 2016 and took a ~6 or 7 hour flight 2 months after and was fine and have not since had any problems with either of my lungs. At takeoff i was nervous because I was scared of a collapse at takeoff but the only thing i felt was a little bit of pressure and that was it. I took another flight 5 months ago and again was nervous about my lung but this time didn't even feel pressure. I would say you are going to be fine but ultimately it is up to how you feel.

    • Posted

      Thank you . He felt nothing , just nervous incase anything happened. He wasnt allowed to fly for 12 weeks after his collapses , and the same after his surgeries . It was 6 months after his first collapse before i had confidence to take him on a plane . Few months later we faced the 3 operations and we waited a year and a half before next flights .

    • Posted

      Thank You for responding. I am glad you are doing OK. I am awaiting to see the specialist to get a second opinion. Hopefully he says it's OK. Do you know anybody else that was OK traveling after what we been through?

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.