My mate has asked me to post this as he has recently been diagnosed with a collapsed lung . Thought he might have pulled muscle but it appears he has a small incision in his lung and it has trapped air . No idea how it happened. He is awaiting a ultra sound and then they will decide how to approach the condition ,but in the mean time wishes to continue surfing . Advice from doctor was it ‘should’ be ok but in UK people tend to think of windsurfing when visualising surfing so not too confident on doctors advice . He went out yesterday and felt the occasional pain but nothing horrendous .He is 63 next month if he makes it -his joke not mine .
I had a partially collapsed lung as a complication resulting from another procedure. The docs regarded this very seriously and when it didn’t improve in 24 hrs, they went to the standard remediation which is to insert a tube into your lung through which they can apply negative pressure (suction) over time. This eventually re-inflates the lung. The thing that worries me about what you say is that your friend has some kind of incision (?) that has caused this situation. I wouldn’t mess around with this. BTW, the “tube in lung” experience is pretty unpleasant.
Sorry tsimpson my poor medical terminology . A spontaneous opening or cavity has developed in the lung wall rather than a incision .
I will suggest he has a more thorough talk with the Doc and cut back on surfing till they discover more . Not going to be happy as we have waited weeks for this new swell .