Postural dependency treatment was bed rest with the position carefully selected, noting the diseased area of the individual patient and taking advantage of physiological factors. It helped to close infected holes in the lungs faster, and often did so when other relaxation measures such as pneumothorax and thoracoplasty failed. It may have improved a patient’s condition so that he or she was better able to undergo an operation. Occasionally when there were two cavities, one in each lung, postural dependency treatment closed one cavity thereby preparing the patient for operation on the other side, thus turning a previously inoperable patient into a reasonable surgical possibility. In some instances it even made operation unnecessary. It was therefore felt that the advantages of this procedure far outweighed the discomfort of lying in a somewhat unusual position.