Has anyone been told they might have pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) and it turned out to be just precaution?

Hi everyone, I (26M)recently had surgery for a recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax. After the procedure, the pathology report mentioned that pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) could be considered, but it was not confirmed and requires clinical and radiological correlation. My CT scans mainly showed bullae and mild emphysema. Clinically, I’m stable and don’t have significant shortness of breath. My doctors have not diagnosed PPFE — they only recommended follow-up and monitoring. However, I have to admit that this possibility has scared me a lot. I’m young, and the idea of having a rare progressive lung disease is causing me significant anxiety. For additional context, I have been a smoker for 11 years and used to smoke about a pack per day. I had my first spontaneous pneumothorax in 2019, and now in 2026 I experienced a second one. I’m wondering whether the scarring mentioned in the pathology report could possibly be related to smoking-related changes or to the previous pneumothorax rather than true PPFE. Has anyone here received a similar “possible PPFE” comment on pathology that later turned out to be post-surgical or reactive changes rather than true PPFE? Was it just a precaution in your case? How did your follow-up go? I would really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you