How does COVID affect the lungs? ‘Post-COVID lungs look worse than any kind of terrible smoker’s lung we’ve ever seen,’ says trauma surgeon from Texas

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Texas trauma surgeon Dr. Brittany Bankhead-Kendall says it’s rare for X-rays of her COVID-19 patients to return without dense scars.

In one of her Twitter messages, she says that “post-covid lungs look worse than any kind of terrible smoker’s lung we’ve ever seen.”

“Everyone is so concerned about mortality and it is terrible and horrible. But the man, and all the survivors and the people who have tested positive, is that it’s going to be a problem, ”said Dr Bankhead-Kendall.

‘Long-haul’ COVID: Some who first saw mild symptoms experiencing debilitating issues months later

Like many, she has treated thousands of patients since March.

Among them, she tells CBS 11 News that those who have had symptoms of COVID-19 present with a severe chest x-ray every time. And those who were asymptomatic show a severe chest x-ray 70% to 80% of the time.

“There are still people who say, ‘I’m fine, I have no problem’ and you take their chest x-ray and they have absolutely a bad chest x-ray,” she said.

Here’s a photo of a normal lung, smoker’s lung, and COVID-19 lung that Dr Bankhead-Kendall shared with CBS 11 News.

Healthy lungs are clean with black representing air. In the smoker’s lung, white lines indicate scarring and congestion. While the COVID lung is filled with white.

“Either you’ll see a lot of those dense white scars or you’ll see them all over your lung. And if you’re not feeling any issues now, the fact that it’s on your chest x-ray definitely indicates your presence. Have problems later on. Said Dr Bankhead-Kendall.

She said it was too early to know the extent of the impact of COVID-19 on your body or if the scars were healing, but she said it was important that if you experience shortness of breath after leaving your COVID-19, keep in touch with your GP.

MORE: Doctor Explains How To Best Treat COVID-19 Symptoms At Home

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