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Coughing after lobectomy

Hello fellow members.

I had a lobectomy at the end of May. 3 weeks after the surgery I started to have a dry irritative cough.
I have been coughing for the last 5 weeks and nor the onclogist, or the surgeon or radiologist cannot find a reason
I was given Nexium to treat a posible reflux but no success.

I have found online that the removal of the mediastinal lymph node can create a cough.

But none of the doctors would confirm.

Did any of you experience such dry couch after surgery?

  1. Hi , I'm sorry you are having such a rough time with your cough. I coughed a lot after my lobectomy, but my cough came right away and eased up within a month, so I did not have your particular challenge. I had a removal of my right middle lobe and complete resection of diaphragm and chest wall, but I believe my mediastin was untouched.

    If you are in a position to get a second opinion at a different hospital (a comprehensive cancer center) I believe it couldn't hurt. Another suggestion is palliative care to help you through the cough. I am attaching a link to an article written by our Editorial Team that I hope helps.

    Please feel free to follow up with us and let us know how you are doing, we are here to support each other. Kindly, Alisa, LungCancer.net team

    https://lungcancer.net/treatment/supportive-palliative-care/

    1. I am a new member today ! I am here because I was researching my persistent dry cough of 4 months now. I had my upper Left lobe removed in Apr this year in Mexico. Couldn’t get back to Canada thanks to Covid nor VATS so being Stage1 went with it here. The pre and post support from my Oncologist is terrible, seen two ! My Aug. blood work and CT scan were clear and due in Mar. 21 for the next. I am paranoid about this cough not going away. What should I be demanding from doctors here ? According to Dr. Google it could be anything GERD to Cancer again. Any info much appreciated.

  2. Hi AndraGeorgia. Sorry you are having this persistent cough. Concerning removal of the mediastinal lymph node, I found this research article which looked at persistent cough following pulmonary resection which found (among other things) "In the present patients, mediastinal lymph node resection may have contributed to coughing after the procedure, which tended to improve after 1 year following the operation:" https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15620960/. If you feel you are not being heard by your medical team, as Alisa said, you are always entitled to a second opinion. Hoping you get some answers soon. Best, Richard (LungCancer.net Team)

    1. Hi,
      I’m wondering how your cough is now. I hope it has improved. From what I’ve read, it can take a while.
      I had an upper right lobectomy at the end of September. A couple of days after I was released from the hospital, while new onset atrial fibrillation was being investigated, I was told I had nearly complete atelectasis (collapse) of the middle lobe. In a follow up with the surgeon, I was told to use the incentive spirometer, a lot, and not be afraid to cough lots. I did, and still do. A subsequent follow up with X-ray a couple weeks later only showed marginal improvement. Since then, a fairly chronic cough has settled in, usually worse in the evening. I have another X-ray and follow up in a few days, and I’m hoping to see improvement, but I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever be rid of the cough. I continue to use the spirometer, do breathing exercises etc.
      Chris

      1. I had right upper lobectomy with re-section 3 weeks ago , cough has become my biggest complaint. After a lot of reading , I have found this is a common complaint from others that have had this type of surgery.

        1. Hi again, you are right, it is a common complaint after lung surgery. Wishing you a smooth recovery and hoping your cough eases up soon, you are still very fresh from surgery. I'm glad you found our community, we are here for you, will be looking for an update! Warmly, Alisa

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