Abstract
A 71-year-old man was referred to our department with nodular opacity in the lower lobe of the right lung accompanying chronic expanding hematoma in the right pleural cavity. Nodular opacity was first noted on chest computed tomography in December 2007. The patient had a history of right spontaneous pneumothorax at 27 and sigmoid colon cancer at 68 years old. Preoperative radiographic and clinical features suggested that the nodular opacity was a malignant tumor metastasized from sigmoid colon. This diagnosis was based on the elevation of the serum CEA antigen level and computed tomography findings. We conducted decortication of the right lung and partial resection of the right lower lobe. Postoperative pathological examination of the nodular opacity confirmed necrotic tissue with no malignant component, and cultures of the contents were negative for both standard plate count bacteria and bacteria responsible for tuberculosis. The postoperative course was favorable, and the patient was discharged from the hospital on the 14th postoperative day.
