2015 Volume 29 Issue 1 Pages 67-72
The patient was a 63-year-old male. He was diagnosed with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) on CT examination in 2000. He underwent video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for right pneumothorax in 2003. The pathological diagnosis was malignant melanoma of the lung. There was no other malignant melanoma noted on whole-body examinations, and so he was diagnosed with primary malignant melanoma of the lung. He thoracoscopically underwent both partial resection and pleural covering method with a regenerated oxidized cellulose mesh for left intractable pneumothorax in 2004. Regarding histopathological findings, the malignant melanoma cells invaded a thickened visceral pleura created by the covering. However, the malignant cells in the other covered areas had been contained below the thickened pleura. The pleural covering method was effective for pneumothorax due to invasive malignant cells. However, he subsequently died of brain metastasis in 2007.
