Man cured of rare condition that left him unable to breathe by having his lungs washed with 30 liters of salt water

Robert Epperson, 44, was diagnosed with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) after years of not being able to breathe

The treatment is lung lavage - washing the lungs out with fluid

Epperson underwent the procedure, in which 30 liters of fluid were pumped through his lungs

The fluid cleaned his air sacs of surfectant

Epperson was formerly unable to speak without gasping for breath, but now he's living normally

A 44-year-old Virginia man who couldn't even speak without gasping for breath is now breathing normally after having his lungs washed out with 30 liters of fluid.



Robert Epperson, 44, was diagnosed late last year with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, or PAP, in which surfectant builds up in the air sacs of the lungs.

The treatment is a procedure called lung lavage during which doctors washed his lungs, one at a time, with a saline solution.



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Debilitating: Robert Epperson needed an oxygen tank to breathe and was constantly struggling for breath

Short of breath: Epperson's air sacs were filled with surfectant and a misdiagnosis of his condition meant that treatments were ineffective and sometimes harmful

Intubated: Epperson was breathing through one lung while the other was washed

Epperson had previously been diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a disease that effects mainly the lungs and lymphatic system, but treatments were ineffective and after yet another bout of pneumonia he went steadily downhill.

Finally, just before Thanksgiving 2013, he was found by doctors at the Clelveland Clinic to be suffering from PAP, a condition that's hard to diagnose and is often mistaken for sarcoidosis.



According to Epperson's doctors, the initial misdiagnosis of sarcoidosis was exacerbating his condition. The immune suppressant and anti-inflammatory drugs were in fact making him more susceptible to infection.



After his most recent bout with pneumonia, Epperson found himself barely able to stand or speak without becoming winded.



The engineer was still dragging himself to work every day but was surviving on oxygen tanks.



'I had absolutely no energy... During that time, I would go from my bed to my desk at work to bed,' he told ABC News.



Specialized procedure: A doctor secures one of the many bags of fluid that was run through Epperson's clogged lungs

Good vibration: Epperson can be seen with a chest percussor strapped to him, which vibrated his chest as the fluid was pumped through them

'Several people told me, after the fact, that they were not sure I would make it through. To quote my wife, "I was on death’s doorstep."'



Epperson, a father of two boys aged 21 and 14, had given up on any activities outside of work and sleep.



After doctors at the Cleveland Clinic diagnosed APA, Epperson underwent lung lavage, a treatment that's used exclusively for PAP.



According to ABC News, Epperson was fitted with a chest percussor, a vest that shook his chest. Doctors intubated him, washing one lung at a time so that Epperson could breathe with the other one.



The saline solution was pumping into his lungs, cleaning out the excess surfectant from his air sacs. Surfectant is protein and lipid material.



'Normal surfactant keeps the airways open,' Dr Basem Abdelmalak told ABC News.



Life savers: Dr Basem Abdelmalak (left) performed the lung-washing procedure while Dr Jihane Faress (right) finally gave Epperson the correct diagnosis for his condition



First wash: One of the medical team drains fluid from Epperson's lung into a bottle

Fresh start: The first liters of liquid were cloudy with surfectant that had built up in Epperson's air sacs

'The blood that comes through the thin walls exchange with the air and that’s how we get oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide. The altered surfactant protein makes this wall very thick, so the air doesn’t exchange well. There is a lack of oxygenation, and the patient becomes short of breath and fatigues quickly, and is barely able to leave the house.'



Over the course of successive washes, the liquid slowly turned from cloudy, milky, off-white to clear. It took 30 liters of water to clean Epperson's lungs.



The procedure can only be performed by a highly trained surgeon and a team made up of a radiologist, anesthesiologist and pathologist.



Breathing easy: The fluid flushed through Epperson's lungs went from cloudy to clear as his air sacs were cleaned out

Family man: Epperson (pictured with his family) can start doing some of his favorite activities again, such as coaching kids sports

Epperson says the result was nothing short of a miracle.



'I had the lavage Thursday, and on Friday I felt well enough to drive myself home,' he told ABC.



Epperson may go into complete remission from he disease, or he may require further lung-washing.



The doctor who diagnosed Epperson's condition correctly, Dr Jihane Faress, is very hopeful for Epperson's future.

