2025 Volume 61 Issue 4 Pages 740-745
The patient was a 17-year-old female. Two and a half months after undergoing surgery by the Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum, she suddenly experienced dyspnea that gradually worsened over time. She was diagnosed as having bilateral pneumothorax on chest radiography and thus was brought to our hospital as an emergency case. When the patient came to our hospital, increased respiratory frequency, orthopnea, and decreased oxygen saturation in the supine position were observed, thus indicating the onset of tension pneumothorax. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a bulla in the right upper lobe and the presence of several other suspicious lesions. Conservative treatment failed to improve her condition, and a thoracoscopic right pulmonary brachythectomy was performed on the 17th day of hospitalization. There were no obvious bulla lesions other than those in the right upper lobe. The patient was discharged from the hospital on the fifth postoperative day and is currently observed as an outpatient for one year and five months after surgery. Patients presenting with bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax are at risk of developing tension pneumothorax, which requires both hospitalization and prompt treatment. Drainage is often unsuccessful, and early surgical intervention should therefore be considered.
