Single-Port VATS Recovery: Breathing Exercises, Drain Removal and Walking From Day One

The first thing many people notice after keyhole lung surgery is not the incision. It is the plastic tube. It snakes out from just below the armpit, runs to a canister on the floor, and seems designed to make every cough, laugh and shuffle to the bathroom feel like a negotiation. Then a physiotherapist appears, hands over a breathing device, and says the words nobody expects on the morning after a lung operation: let’s go for a walk.

That scene captures what single port VATS recovery actually looks like. It is less about lying still and more about doing three deliberate things early and often: breathing exercises that reopen the lung, careful care of the chest drain until the team can remove it, and getting on your feet from day one.

This explainer walks through each of those in plain language, sets out what the evidence supports and where it is still thin, and gives you the questions worth asking before you are wheeled in.

What single-port VATS actually involves

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, or VATS, is keyhole surgery inside the chest: the surgeon works through small cuts using a thin camera and long instruments rather than spreading the ribs apart. In the conventional version, there are usually two to four small incisions. In the single-port, or uniportal, version, the camera, the instruments and eventually the chest drain all pass through one incision, typically a few centimeters long, placed between two ribs on the side of the chest.

Under general anesthesia, the lung on the operating side is allowed to deflate so the surgeon has room to see. The camera image goes to a screen; the team then removes a lobe, a wedge of lung, a lymph node sample, a mediastinal mass, or performs a pleural procedure such as pleurodesis, depending on why you are there. At the end, a chest drain is placed through the same opening, the lung is reinflated, and the wound is closed around the tube.

Why one incision instead of three? The theory is straightforward. Each cut between ribs risks bruising or compressing an intercostal nerve, the nerve that runs beneath each rib and carries pain signals from the chest wall. Fewer incisions may mean fewer irritated nerves and a smaller total wound. Whether that translates into meaningfully less pain is a genuine research question, and we come back to it below.

What matters most for your recovery is not the number of ports. It is that the ribs were not spread, the muscles of the chest wall were largely left intact, and the operation was planned so that you could breathe deeply and move early. Those are the levers that shape the days that follow, as Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins both describe in their overviews of VATS.

Why breathing exercises matter from the first hours

A lung that has been deflated during surgery does not simply snap back to full size. Small airways stay closed, the lowest segments stay partly collapsed, and mucus that would normally be coughed up sits where it is because coughing hurts. Doctors call this atelectasis, which means areas of lung that are not inflated. It is common after any chest or upper abdominal operation and, left alone, it is a set-up for pneumonia.

Deep breathing is the countermeasure. Taking a slow breath in to the top of your capacity and holding it for a few seconds pulls air into those closed segments and stretches them open again. Many teams give an incentive spirometer, a clear plastic device with a piston that rises as you inhale, so you can see how much air you are drawing in and try to match or beat it hour by hour. MedlinePlus lists coughing and deep breathing among the routine post-lung-surgery tasks patients are taught before discharge.

Coughing is the second half of the job. Clearing secretions keeps airways open and lowers infection risk. Nurses usually teach you to splint the wound by pressing a folded towel or small pillow against the incision while you cough; it steadies the chest wall and takes some of the sting out.

A practical rhythm many wards use is a handful of deep breaths and a supported cough every waking hour, though your own team’s instructions take priority. Expect the first sessions to feel modest. The volume you can reach on day one is not a verdict on your lungs; it reflects pain, anesthesia and the drain. It typically climbs over the following days, and that upward trend is one of the things the team watches when deciding you are ready to go home.

Chest drain removal after VATS: what the tube does and how the decision is made

A chest drain is a flexible tube placed in the pleural space, the thin gap between the lung and the inside of the chest wall. After lung surgery it does two things: it lets out air that leaks from the cut surface of the lung so the lung stays expanded, and it drains blood-tinged fluid that collects after any operation. MedlinePlus describes the tube being connected to a collection system that may use gentle suction or a one-way water seal.

Removing it is a judgment, not a countdown. Teams generally look at three things:

• Air leak. Bubbling in the chamber, or a reading on a digital drainage device, shows air is still escaping from the lung surface. Removal usually waits until the leak has stopped.
• Fluid volume. Output is measured over each 24 hours. Once it falls below the threshold your surgeon uses, and the fluid is not bloody or cloudy, the tube is a candidate for removal.
• Chest X-ray. A film confirming the lung is fully expanded before and sometimes after the tube comes out.

In uniportal surgery the drain exits through the same incision used for the operation, so removal also becomes the moment the wound is fully closed. The process itself is brief: you are asked to take a deep breath in or hum while the tube is pulled and the site is covered with an airtight dressing. Most people describe a strange tugging sensation rather than sharp pain.

A prolonged air leak, meaning one that persists longer than the team expected, is the most common reason a drain stays in beyond the first days. It usually settles on its own with time and continued breathing exercises, but it is the single biggest variable in how long your stay lasts.

Walking from day one: why your team gets you up so early

Lying in bed feels like the sensible response to chest surgery. The evidence points the other way, which is why enhanced recovery programs for thoracic surgery treat early mobilization, meaning sitting out of bed and walking within the first day, as a core part of care rather than an optional extra.

Three mechanisms explain it. First, standing upright and walking makes you breathe more deeply without thinking about it; gravity and movement open the lower lobes far more effectively than shallow breaths taken lying down. Second, moving the calf muscles pumps blood back toward the heart, which is the body’s own defense against deep vein thrombosis, a clot in a leg vein that can travel to the lung. The NHS lists immobility after surgery among the main risk factors for these clots. Third, walking restores appetite, bowel function and sleep rhythm, all of which anesthesia and opioid medicines disrupt.

The chest drain is not a reason to stay put. Drainage systems are designed to be carried or wheeled; nurses will show you how to keep the canister below chest level so fluid does not run back, and how to avoid kinking the tube. A physiotherapist or nurse usually accompanies the first walk, which may be no farther than the corridor and back.

Expect a stepwise pattern: sitting in a chair for meals on day one, corridor laps by day two, and stairs before discharge if you have stairs at home. Fatigue after each effort is normal. Sharp new breathlessness, dizziness or a racing pulse during a walk are not, and should be reported straight away.

If your team has not mentioned a walking plan by the first morning, ask. It is one of the few parts of recovery you genuinely control.

Single port VATS recovery timeline: first hours to first weeks

No two recoveries run to the same clock, and the type of procedure through the port matters as much as the port itself. A small wedge resection or lymph node biopsy is a lighter operation than a lobectomy, which removes one of the lung’s lobes. Still, a typical shape emerges from patient guidance published by MedlinePlus, Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins, and it is useful to see it laid out.

Phase	What is usually happening	What you are usually asked to do
First 24 hours	Monitoring, pain control started, chest drain in place, first chest X-ray	Deep breaths and supported coughs each hour; sit out of bed; first short walk
Days 1–4	Air leak and fluid output reviewed daily; drain removed when criteria met	Corridor walks several times a day; incentive spirometer; eat and drink normally
Discharge (often within a few days for VATS, per MedlinePlus)	Wound checked, medicines reviewed, follow-up arranged	Walk daily at home; keep wound dry per instructions; continue breathing exercises
Weeks 1–2	Wound healing; chest wall soreness easing; energy still low	Gradually lengthen walks; avoid lifting heavy loads; no driving until cleared
Weeks 2–6	Return toward usual routine; follow-up visit, often with X-ray	Resume light work and normal activity as advised; report new symptoms

MedlinePlus notes that hospital stays are generally shorter after VATS than after open surgery, and that returning to work and full activity tends to happen sooner, on the order of weeks rather than months. Treat these as typical ranges, not targets. A prolonged air leak, an irregular heart rhythm or simply a slower baseline will stretch the timeline, and none of that means something has gone wrong.

How painful is VATS lung surgery, honestly?

People ask this more than any other question, and deserve a straight answer. VATS is less painful than open thoracotomy, in which the ribs are spread apart, and that difference is well established in the guidance from Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins. Within keyhole surgery, whether one port hurts less than three is a narrower and less settled question.

Where the pain comes from helps set expectations. The lung itself has few pain receptors; the ache you feel is chest wall pain from the incision and from the intercostal nerve beneath the rib where the drain sits. That is why the drain is often the most uncomfortable element, and why pain frequently eases noticeably the day the tube comes out. Shoulder-tip pain on the operated side is also common; it is referred pain from irritation of the diaphragm and tends to fade within days.

What about single port specifically? Randomized trials and systematic reviews comparing uniportal with multiport VATS have reported lower pain scores in the first days in some studies and no meaningful difference in others. Effect sizes, where found, are generally small. The honest summary is that single port is at least comparable to multiport for pain, may offer a modest early advantage, and that the surgeon’s experience and the quality of pain management matter more than the port count.

A minority of patients develop persistent chest wall pain or numbness lasting months after any thoracic surgery, a condition sometimes called post-thoracotomy pain syndrome. It occurs after keyhole procedures too, though it is thought to be less frequent. If pain is still limiting you at your follow-up visit, say so; it is treatable and worth raising early.

Is VATS a serious surgery? Risks described plainly

Yes, in the sense that it is major surgery under general anesthesia on an organ you cannot do without, and no, in the sense that it is designed to be far less disruptive than the open operations it replaced. Both things are true, and a good consent conversation covers both.

The risks MedlinePlus and Mayo Clinic list for lung surgery are the ones your surgeon will walk through:

• Prolonged air leak from the lung surface, extending the time the drain stays in
• Pneumonia or partial lung collapse, the reason breathing exercises are pushed so hard
• Bleeding, occasionally requiring return to the operating room
• Infection at the wound or in the pleural space
• Irregular heart rhythm, especially atrial fibrillation, in the first days
• Blood clots in the leg or lung
• Conversion to an open operation if bleeding, adhesions or anatomy make keyhole access unsafe
• Persistent chest wall pain or numbness

Conversion deserves a note. Single port gives the surgeon one fixed window into the chest. If the view or access is not adequate, the team may add a second port or open the chest. This is a safety decision made in your interest, and you should be told before surgery that it is possible.

How risky any of this is for you personally depends on your lung function, heart health, smoking history and the extent of the operation, which is why pre-operative testing exists. Ask your surgeon to put your own risk in context rather than relying on general figures; the treating team is the only source that can weigh your specifics.

Who is usually offered single-port VATS, and who is asked to wait

Uniportal VATS is now used for much of what thoracic surgeons do: lobectomy and segmentectomy for early-stage lung cancer, wedge resection of a nodule or bleb, biopsy of lung or pleura, removal of certain mediastinal tumors such as thymic masses, and pleural procedures including pleurodesis and drainage of trapped fluid. The NHS describes keyhole techniques as a standard option within lung cancer surgery where the tumor is suitable.

Candidates tend to share a few features: a tumor or target that is small enough and positioned so it can be reached from a single lateral incision, no dense scarring from previous chest surgery or infection, and lung and heart function judged adequate to tolerate one lung being deflated during the operation and losing tissue afterward. Age by itself is not a barrier; fitness is what the team assesses.

Some people are usually asked to wait or offered a different approach:

• Those with an active chest infection, which raises the risk of post-operative pneumonia; surgery is often deferred until it clears.
• Current smokers, who are commonly asked to stop for several weeks beforehand because smoking impairs healing and clearance of secretions.
• People whose breathing tests suggest they would struggle after losing lung tissue, who may be offered a smaller resection, radiotherapy or other options.
• Anyone on blood thinners that need a planned pause, or with uncontrolled heart disease needing optimization first.
• Tumors that are large, centrally placed or involving major vessels, where the surgeon may judge multiport or open surgery safer.

None of these is a rejection. They are the reasons a multidisciplinary team meeting exists: to match the operation to the person, not the other way around.

Single-port vs multiport vs open surgery: what the evidence says about recovery

Comparisons between approaches are where marketing and evidence most often part ways, so it is worth being careful.

The clearest gap is between any form of VATS and open thoracotomy. Keyhole surgery is consistently associated with shorter hospital stays, less early pain, faster return to activity and fewer pulmonary complications, which is why guidance from the NHS, Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins presents VATS as the preferred approach when it is technically feasible. Cancer outcomes for early-stage disease appear equivalent when the same operation is done through either approach.

Within VATS, the picture is more modest:

• Pain. Some trials show slightly lower early pain scores with a single port; others show none. Differences, where present, are small.
• Drain duration and length of stay. Several studies report marginally shorter drain time or stay with uniportal surgery, but many find no difference once patient factors are accounted for.
• Complications and completeness of cancer surgery. Reported rates of complications and lymph node retrieval are broadly similar between one port and several in experienced hands.
• Long-term function. Lung function months after surgery is determined mainly by how much lung was removed, not by the number of incisions.

What this means for you: the choice of single versus multiport is usually a matter of your surgeon’s training and judgment about your anatomy, and either is a reasonable keyhole option. The recovery habits described in this article, breathing exercises, drain care and early walking, apply identically to both. If a clinician tells you one port will guarantee a faster recovery, ask what evidence they are drawing on; a fair answer will acknowledge the uncertainty.

Managing pain so it does not derail your recovery

Pain control after chest surgery is not about comfort alone. Pain that stops you breathing deeply or walking undoes the two things that protect your lungs, so treating it is a clinical priority rather than an indulgence. The specific medicines, amounts and schedule are decisions for your anesthetist and surgical team; what follows describes the categories and how they work.

Most programs use a layered approach. A regional technique, meaning local anesthetic delivered near the intercostal nerves or between muscle planes of the chest wall, numbs the operative area for hours and sometimes longer. Around-the-clock non-opioid medicines such as acetaminophen and, where kidneys and stomach allow, anti-inflammatory drugs reduce the baseline ache. Opioids are typically reserved for breakthrough pain, at the lowest amount that lets you breathe and move, because they suppress cough, slow the bowel and cloud alertness.

Knowing the pattern helps. Pain often peaks in the first day or two, drops noticeably when the drain comes out, then settles into a dull soreness that eases over the following weeks. Numbness or tingling around the incision is common as the small skin nerves recover, and can last for months.

Non-drug measures carry more weight than people expect. Splinting the incision with a pillow when coughing, using heat on shoulder muscles, positioning yourself semi-upright to sleep, and keeping to the walking plan all reduce how much medicine you need.

Tell the team honestly when pain is limiting your breathing exercises or walks; a pain score that stops you moving is a problem to fix, not a badge of toughness. Equally, do not stop or change any prescribed medicine on your own after discharge. If side effects such as constipation, nausea or drowsiness are troubling you, the prescribing clinician can adjust the plan.

VATS pleurodesis recovery and other procedures done through one port

Recovery after single port VATS depends heavily on what was done through the port, and pleurodesis is the example people ask about most.

Pleurodesis is a procedure that deliberately makes the two pleural layers stick together so fluid or air can no longer collect between them. It is used for recurrent pneumothorax, a collapsed lung caused by air leaking into the pleural space, and for pleural effusions that keep returning, often related to cancer. The surgeon either roughens the pleural surface mechanically or applies a sterile irritant, and the resulting inflammation fuses the layers over the following days.

That inflammation is the reason pleurodesis recovery feels different. Chest pain in the first two or three days is often more pronounced than after a simple wedge resection, and a low-grade fever is common as the body reacts to the irritant. The drain typically stays in longer, sometimes several days, because the team wants the lung fully expanded and pressed against the chest wall while the adhesion forms; suction is often used to hold it there. Walking is still encouraged, tethered to the drainage system.

Once the drain is out, recovery follows the general VATS pattern, with soreness easing over two to four weeks. The pleurodesis itself continues to mature for weeks after that.

Other procedures have their own footprints. Lobectomy carries the longest tail because a substantial portion of lung is gone and the body adapts over months. Wedge resection and biopsy are typically the quickest. Mediastinal tumor removal, done through a single port for smaller masses, tends to recover like a wedge resection but may involve a longer operation. Ask your surgeon which of these patterns your own procedure most resembles.

Going home: what single port VATS recovery looks like in the first weeks

Discharge tends to arrive faster than people expect, sometimes the day after the drain comes out. MedlinePlus’s discharge guidance for lung surgery sets out the essentials, and most surgical units give a written version tailored to their own practice.

At home, the same three pillars continue. Keep doing the breathing exercises, ideally with the incentive spirometer you were given, for as long as the team advises, since the lung is still reopening. Walk every day and extend the distance gradually; a common pattern is short walks several times a day rather than one long outing. Care for the single incision as instructed: keep it clean and dry, watch for redness or discharge, and avoid soaking it until told it is safe.

Fatigue is the symptom that catches people off guard. Energy after chest surgery returns over weeks, not days, and needing an afternoon rest well into the second or third week is ordinary. Appetite may lag; small frequent meals and enough fluid help, and both matter for wound healing.

Some practical limits are nearly universal. Lifting anything heavy or reaching overhead with the operated arm is usually restricted for several weeks to let the chest wall heal. Driving is off until you can brake sharply and turn without pain and are no longer taking medicines that impair alertness; your team will say when. Air travel after lung surgery is a specific question because cabin pressure changes can affect any residual air in the chest, so ask before booking anything.

A follow-up visit, often with a chest X-ray, is usually scheduled within a few weeks. It is the moment to review pathology results if tissue was removed, discuss lingering pain, and get a clear signal on returning to work and exercise.

What people often get wrong about recovering from VATS

Some myths are harmless. These ones can slow you down.

Rest is the fastest route to healing. After chest surgery, prolonged bed rest raises the risk of pneumonia, clots and deconditioning. Early walking and hourly breathing exercises are the treatment, not a distraction from it.

One incision means one-tenth of the recovery. A single port is a smaller wound, but the operation inside the chest is the same. If a lobe was removed, your body adapts to that over months regardless of how many holes were made in the skin.

Coughing will damage the repair. Staples and sutures on the lung are designed to withstand coughing. What coughing actually does is clear secretions that would otherwise breed infection. Splint the wound and cough anyway.

The drain should come out on a fixed day. Removal depends on air leak, fluid volume and X-ray appearance. A drain that stays in an extra day or two is a judgment about safety, not a sign of failure.

Pain means something has gone wrong. Chest wall soreness, shoulder-tip ache and numbness around the incision are expected. What warrants a call is pain that is new, escalating, or paired with breathlessness or fever.

Less pain means I can skip the exercises. Good pain control is the enabler for breathing and walking, not a substitute for them. The lung does not reinflate itself because you feel comfortable.

Numbness will be permanent. Altered skin sensation around the wound is common and usually fades over months as small nerves recover, though a minority of people notice a residual patch.

Each correction here points back to the same three habits. That is not a coincidence; it is what the recovery evidence keeps finding.

Questions to ask your care team before and after single-port VATS

A ten-minute conversation before surgery often shapes the whole recovery. These questions are framed to get specific, useful answers rather than reassurance.

Before the operation:

• Which procedure will be done through the port, and how does its typical recovery differ from other VATS operations?
• How likely is conversion to a second port or an open incision in my case, and what would prompt it?
• What is the pain plan, including any regional nerve block, and who adjusts it if it is not working?
• Will I be given a breathing device, and how often should I use it?
• When will I first get out of bed, and who will walk with me?
• Do I need to stop smoking, change any medicines or do prehabilitation exercises beforehand?

During the stay:

• What specifically are you waiting for before removing my chest drain?
• Is there an air leak, and what does that mean for my discharge?
• What number on the spirometer are you hoping I reach?

Before going home:

• Which symptoms should prompt a phone call, and which mean going straight to emergency care?
• How do I care for the incision, and when can I shower or bathe?
• When can I drive, lift, return to work, exercise and fly?
• When is my follow-up, will there be an X-ray, and when will pathology results be discussed?
• Who do I contact after hours if I am worried?

Write the answers down or ask a companion to. Anesthesia and the first night in hospital are not kind to memory, and the written sheet you bring home will be the one you actually read.

When to call your doctor: red-flag signs after VATS

Most of what you feel in the weeks after single port VATS is expected: soreness, tiredness, a patch of numbness, a cough that lingers. A short list of symptoms is not expected, and MedlinePlus’s discharge guidance for lung surgery is explicit that they need prompt attention.

Call your surgical team or seek urgent care the same day if you notice:

• New or worsening shortness of breath, or breathlessness at rest
• Fever, chills or sweats, which can signal infection in the wound, lung or pleural space
• Redness, swelling, warmth, increasing pain or pus at the incision, or a wound that opens
• Coughing up blood beyond faint streaks in the first day or two
• Pain that is escalating rather than easing, or pain not controlled by your prescribed plan
• A swollen, painful or warm calf, which can indicate a deep vein thrombosis
• A fast or irregular heartbeat, dizziness or fainting
• Persistent nausea, vomiting or inability to keep fluids down
• A crackling sensation under the skin of the chest or neck, which can mean air is leaking into tissue

Call emergency services immediately, rather than waiting for a clinic to open, for sudden severe chest pain, sudden severe breathlessness, blue lips or fingertips, confusion, collapse, or coughing up large amounts of blood. These can indicate a lung collapse, a clot in the lung or significant bleeding, all of which need immediate assessment.

If you are simply unsure whether something is normal, that is reason enough to phone. Surgical teams would far rather answer a call about a symptom that turns out to be ordinary than see a problem late. Every decision about investigation or treatment rests with the clinicians looking after you; this list exists to help you reach them in time.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to recover from a VATS procedure?

Most people leave hospital within a few days of VATS and return to light daily routines over two to four weeks, with full activity taking longer after a lobectomy, according to MedlinePlus’s lung surgery guidance. The pace depends on what was removed, whether an air leak prolonged the drain, and your baseline fitness, so your surgical team’s estimate for your own case is the one to rely on.

What is the typical VATS surgery recovery time compared with open surgery?

Keyhole surgery is consistently associated with shorter hospital stays and faster return to activity than open thoracotomy, in which the ribs are spread. MedlinePlus notes that people who have VATS generally go home sooner and resume work earlier, typically within weeks rather than months. The difference between single port and multiport VATS is much smaller and, in many studies, not measurable.

Is VATS a serious surgery?

Yes, VATS is major surgery under general anesthesia with real risks, including prolonged air leak, pneumonia, bleeding, irregular heart rhythm and clots, as Mayo Clinic and MedlinePlus describe. It is also designed to be far less disruptive than open chest surgery, with smaller wounds and quicker recovery. Your surgeon can put these risks in the context of your own lung function and health.

How painful is VATS lung surgery?

VATS is markedly less painful than open surgery, but chest wall soreness, shoulder-tip ache and discomfort from the drain are expected in the first days. Pain usually eases noticeably once the drain is removed and settles to a dull soreness over the following weeks. Regional nerve blocks and layered pain medicines, managed by your anesthetist, are standard. Report pain that stops you breathing deeply or walking.

How long does it take to recover from VATS pleurodesis surgery?

Pleurodesis recovery often feels rougher in the first two or three days because the procedure deliberately inflames the pleural lining, and the drain may stay in longer to hold the lung against the chest wall while the layers fuse. After the drain comes out, soreness typically eases over two to four weeks. The adhesion itself keeps maturing for weeks, and your team will advise on activity.

When is the chest drain removed after VATS?

The drain is removed when air has stopped leaking from the lung surface, fluid output over 24 hours has fallen below your surgeon’s threshold and is not bloody or cloudy, and a chest X-ray shows the lung fully expanded. For many people this happens within the first few days, but a prolonged air leak can extend it. Removal takes seconds and is usually felt as tugging.

Why do I have to walk the day after lung surgery?

Walking on the first day deepens your breathing, which reopens collapsed lung segments, and works the calf muscles that pump blood back toward the heart, reducing the risk of deep vein thrombosis that the NHS links to post-surgical immobility. It also restores appetite, bowel function and sleep. Drainage systems are portable, and a nurse or physiotherapist will accompany your first steps.

How often should I use the breathing device after VATS?

Many wards suggest a set of deep breaths and a supported cough each waking hour in the first days, but your own team’s written instructions take priority. The volume you reach on day one is usually low because of pain and the drain; the upward trend over subsequent days is what matters. Continue at home for as long as the team advises.

Does single-port VATS really hurt less than three-port VATS?

The evidence is mixed. Some randomized trials report slightly lower pain scores in the first days with a single incision, others find no difference, and where an advantage exists it is small. Surgeon experience and the pain plan matter more than the port count. It is fair to describe uniportal VATS as at least comparable to multiport for pain, not as clearly superior.

What can I not do in the first weeks after single-port VATS?

Heavy lifting and overhead reaching with the operated arm are usually restricted for several weeks while the chest wall heals, and driving waits until you can brake sharply without pain and are off medicines that impair alertness. Soaking the incision, strenuous exercise and air travel each need explicit clearance from your team, per MedlinePlus discharge guidance for lung surgery.

References

• MedlinePlus: Lung surgery
• NHS: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• NHS: Lung cancer – Treatment

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.