In a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Trail Blazers have announced that “guard CJ McCollum has a pneumothorax (collapsed right lung) and will be further evaluated.”
Since many do not know anything about what apneumothorax is, how severe it is, and how much timeCJ McCollum may miss, here is the inside scoop.
From the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research, “a pneumothorax is generally diagnosed using a chest X-ray. In some cases, a computerized tomography (CT) scan may be needed to provide more-detailed images. Ultrasound imaging also may be used to identify a pneumothorax.“
According to Healthline, an American website and provider of health information headquartered in San Francisco, CA., the symptoms may include:
- a sudden, sharp, stabbing pain in the chest
- rapid breathing or shortness of breath (dyspnea)
- turning blue, known as cyanosis
- a rapid heart rate
- low blood pressure
- lung expansion on one side
- a hollow sound if you tap on the chest
- an enlarged jugular vein
- anxiety
- fatigue
There are a variety of risk factors and causes, but what stands out is the 30% chance that this will recur within 5 years, and the risk of recurrence increases each time it happens.
The good news however is that the Healthline article also writes that it will usually take 6 to 8 weeks to fully recover from a punctured lung. However, recovery time will depend on the level of injury and what action was required to treat it.
This article was also written by Parmvir Kang.