Why Pope Francis Only Got One Lung?

Pope Francis I be called the pope a pioneer in many ways. It is the first time the name Francis, he first pope from Latin America, and the first pope who lived for many years with only one lung.

As quoted by the Associated Press, the 266th pope underwent removal of the lung organ when he was a teenager, allegedly due to infection. At times it may not be as effective as antibiotic treatment right now, especially in dealing with infections.

To protect patients from infection is more severe, the doctor may decide to raise his lungs so the infection does not spread.

"Maybe then the infection is severe, or there could have been an abscess causing bleeding," said Dr. John Belperio, pulmonary expert from The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

"If there is severe bleeding in the lungs, the main thing to do is to perform lung resection or a decision to stop the bleeding," he added.

According to Dr. Ronald Crystal, pulmonary expert from New York Presbyterian, there are many bacteria that can cause infection and serious damage to the lung tissue. Some strains of bacteria such as Staphylococci are the most destructive and can take delicate organs so doctors had no choice but to remove tissue that is damaged so the damage does not spread.

Pneumococcal disease or pneumonia, fungal, or tuberculosis can also cause the initial infection which if not controlled could end up in the lung organ removal.

Another possibility of doing the surgical removal of the lung is a congenital defect. It causes abnormalities in lung tissue or growth of abnormal blood vessels in the bag and the air will inhibit breathing.

Fortunately, the lung has excess capacity so the loss of one lung would not be too serious impact on health.

Barriers can be faced Pope Francis I was it had a lower lung function than those who have two lungs. This means it is more prone to complications of influenza or pneumonia.

However, according to Belperio, Francis Pope is now 76 years old is relatively healthy and surgical removal of the lung does not seem to have a major impact on the ability to perform routine activities.

In a study of animal experiments it is known that the lungs have the ability to regenerate and initial studies in children showed that they were able to regrow lost lung tissue.

"Over the pope could take precautions against infection, such as injection against pneumonia and influenza vaccine routinely, there's no reason it easy to get sick," said Crystal.

New Pope Has Only One Lung

Pope Francis, who was just elected as the supreme leader of the Catholic Church to live with one lung. He lost a lung due to infection as a teenager.

However, medical experts say, the condition does not limit the energy and action of the 76-year-old whale in the past, and will not prevent in the future.

Dr. Zab Mosenifar, a lung specialist at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, U.S., said Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, who have chosen to use the name of Francis while serving as pope looked fit, lean, and have a lung capacity were close to normal.

"Without the need to check and test it, I confidently say that he is on the move 85 to 90 percent of the capacity of people his age who have two lungs and mediocre," said Mosenifar. "It did not bother me."

Pope Francis seemed to lose a lung over 50 years ago, when a severe fungal infections or pneumonia treated with surgery because it was not widely available antibiotics. However, single lung seemed to grow and develop normally near capacity in one or two years, said Mosenifar, who is medical director of the Women's Guild Lung Institute.

Human lung has excess capacity. That's why doctors typically use only one lung during lung transplantation. Mosenifar said, there are 30,000 to 40,000 transplant patients who live in the U.S. and live with only one lung, as well as thousands of other pulmonary lost due to disease or trauma.

Many patients with a single lung not only live a normal life, but also active, said Dr. Edward Salerno, a pulmonologis at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. "They can work out and not feel any abnormal body function," he said.