A member asked:

If i have a pneumothorax in the last week am i still able to fly safety from la to tokyo?

9 doctors weighed in across 3 answers

No: The primary-care doctor and pulmonologist (lung specialist) can advise a patient on how long to wait after pneumothorax before flying in an airplane up high, especially if the patient is a pilot. Recurrences of a spontaneous (not caused by disease) pneumothorax are less likely to happen as time passes, so the first few months are more risky, but the risk is much lower after a couple of years.

Answered 12/5/2014

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Depends on respond: If your pneumothorax completely resolved and your chest x-ray is clear it will be safe to fly as a passenger. The altitude would only be a factor if you had a residual pneumothorax.

Answered 4/17/2016

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Dr. Loki Skylizard answered

Specializes in Thoracic Surgery

No, is risky: Generally not advised to fly, travel high altitudes or scuba dive so soon after pneumothorax. How long depends on original cause of pneumothorax and what treatment if any have been used. Short answer, it would be ill advised and not thought of as "safe to fly" within a week of suffering a pneumothorax.

Answered 1/19/2014

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