Effect of Stacked Breathing Technique to Reduce Postoperative Pulmonary Complications and Improve Pulmonary Functions: A Brief Review

Patients with postoperative complications have high risk of generating respiratory complications such atelectasis, pneumonia, respiratory dysfunction and pleural effusion. Physiotherapy has been widely used as a means of improving postoperative pulmonary function and reducing complications. Several methods have been studied such as: intermittent positive pressure ventilation, exercises with deep breathing, incentive spirometry and chest physiotherapy. Stacked Breathing is an exercise used to improve the size of breath in one take. This technique is useful when respiratory muscles are weak and when deep breathing can be difficult to breath. Keywords: Stacked Breathing, Postoperative Pulmonary Complications, Pulmonary Functions