2012 Volume 34 Issue 6 Pages 573-576
Background. The surgical treatment of chronic empyema with bronchopleural fistula is often difficult because of poor general condition, advanced age and so on. It has been reported that bronchial occlusion with an endobronchial Watanabe spigot (EWS) can be effective treatment. Case. An 87-year-old man underwent thoracoplasty for chronic empyema with bronchopleural fistula at age 85. However, since empyema with bronchopleural fistula recurred, we performed bronchial embolization with EWS under general anesthesia. The air leakage stopped immediately and he was discharged. Conclusion. This report suggests that the bronchial embolization using EWS could be considered as an effective treatment option for empyema with intractable bronchopleural fistula.
