2017 Volume 39 Issue 2 Pages 150-153
Background. Although the utility of endoscopic bronchial occlusion using endobronchial Watanabe spigot for refractory pneumothorax has been reported, there are no reports on their use in young people. Case. A 16-year-old boy (139 cm, 27 kg) had been undergoing outpatient treatment with prednisolone because of graft-versus-host disease and interstitial pneumonia following bone marrow transplant at 6 years of age to treat leukemia which occurred at the age of 4 years. It is difficult to control interstitial pneumonia, and his lung had been diagnosed with air leak syndrome. In 2013 (at 14 years of age), because of the prolonged air leak he underwent endoscopic bronchial occlusion using endobronchial Watanabe spigot. He exhibited improvement. In 2015, the pneumothorax relapsed, and the air leak was prolonged. Endoscopic bronchial occlusion using endobronchial Watanabe spigot was performed again, and autologous blood was instilled in the pleural space. The air leak ceased. Conclusion. We encountered a case in which a small, teenage patient with refractory pneumothorax responded to endoscopic bronchial occlusion therapy using endobronchial Watanabe spigot.
