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I recently (back in Sept) had surgery for a hiatal hernia that was pressed up into my chest and during the procedure the surgeon noticed that my stomach was stuck to my lung a little bit. While separating them my lung tore and collapsed. He said my lung was like wet tissue paper and asked if I had been on any long term steroid. I couldn't think of any until I realized that my Trelegy has a steroid in it. He looked into it and came back later saying yes it has to be the trelegy. Yesterday he… read more

January 13
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MyCOPDTeam

Has long-term steroid use from Trelegy caused your lung tissue to become fragile?

That sounds incredibly challenging, and it's understandable you're looking for answers about what happened during your surgery.

Trelegy does contain an inhaled corticosteroid (fluticasone), and while inhaled steroids are generally considered Show Full Answer

Has long-term steroid use from Trelegy caused your lung tissue to become fragile?

That sounds incredibly challenging, and it's understandable you're looking for answers about what happened during your surgery.

Trelegy does contain an inhaled corticosteroid (fluticasone), and while inhaled steroids are generally considered safer than oral steroids, they can still have systemic effects with long-term use. Known side effects of inhaled corticosteroids include easy bruising, which suggests they can affect tissue integrity to some degree.

However, the specific issue your surgeon described—lung tissue becoming extremely fragile like "wet tissue paper"—isn't commonly listed as a typical side effect of inhaled steroids in COPD treatment information. This kind of severe tissue fragility is more often associated with long-term oral corticosteroid use, which can cause serious issues including osteoporosis and other tissue problems.

It's worth discussing with your pulmonologist whether:
- The cumulative effect of long-term inhaled steroids might have contributed
- Whether you've had any oral steroid courses for COPD flare-ups that could have added to the problem
- What alternative COPD medications might work for you going forward

This is a serious complication that deserves thorough investigation with your medical team to understand what happened and how to protect your health moving forward.

January 13

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Bradford, ON