Respiratory Rally

What is "floppy lung"?

My son has had many health problems in his 20 months of life. Yesterday he was released from the hospital and will be going back for some tests. They kept referring to a disease/disorder that they also called "floppy lung".. I can’t find any info about it on-line. Does anyone know the technical term for it?

Sorry, but after 35 years in pulmonary medicine I’ve never heard that term. The closest thing I can find is Marfans syndrome in which the connective tissue that holds the bronchi and alveoli in their characteristic shape is deficient thereby causing the lungs to be "floppy". They are held open only by the negative pressure in the pleural space and the little connective tissue they have. It can lead to an increased compliance since the lungs don’t have to overcome the normal stiffness of the collagen fibers. This can lead to pneumothoraces or air in the pleural spaces and collapsed lungs.
I don’t know what treatment is available except treat the symptoms as they arise. It affects other organ systems as well, like the heart and it’s valves. The skeletal system is affected as well. People with Marfan’s syndrome tend to be tall and thin.
God bless.