Reports on postoperative atelectasis have been fairly frequent in the last few years, especially since this condition has been recognized as the most common pulmonary complication following a surgical operation. In spite of this, there has never been an inclusive report from a children's hospital. It is thought that such a report might be instructive and at the same time might clarify the problem and its treatment in the pediatric age group.
In order to obtain as large a number of cases as possible and because I have been a resident physician at two large children's hospitals, this report will consider postoperative collapse as seen at the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago and the Los Angeles Children's Hospital in the ten year period ending in 1941. Methods of treatment were about the same at both institutions except for one factor: At the Children's Memorial Hospital bronchoscopy is a vital part