Abstract
Pneumothorax in association with anesthesia can occur under a variety of circumstances. When it does occur it can be frightening and hazardous. Once tension pneumothorax occurred, it would be fatal without appropriate treatment. We report here two cases of pneumothorax which occurred during general anesthesia. Both patients received subclavian venepuncture prior to surgery at the ward and a chest roentogenogram after subclavian puncture showed no pneumothorax. They had not complained of any discomfort before induction of anesthesia. We were able to detect pneumothorax in its early stage by frequent and careful auscultation of the lung and fortunately pleural adhesion saved them from tension pneumothorax, so that we could finish the operations with no further comlications. We emphasize the importance of auscultation of the lung for early detection of pulmonary complications such as pneumothorax, atelectasis, pulmonary edema, and unilateral endobronchial intubation.
