Abstract
A 41-year-old asymptomatic woman was referred to our hospital for a right pneumothorax noted incidentally on a chest radiograph. She had undergone surgery, radiation at a total dose of 60 Gy, and adjuvant chemotherapy therapy for right breast cancer 14 months previously. A chest tube was inserted into the right pleural cavity. Although the right lung expanded immediately, air leakage increased gradually and the right lung collapsed again three days after drainage. Computed tomography (CT) revealed the thickening of the frontal pleura of the right lower lobe, which resulted from radiation therapy, with chest tube compression and no blebs. We selected video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). The thoracoscopic view showed air leakage from the pleural fissures compressed by the chest tube. Plication was performed for this lesion and air leakage was stopped. No findings of recurrence have been noted since the operation.
