• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.7 s.252
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• pp.518-521
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• 2005

Pneumothorax associated with thoracic endometriosis is a rare clinical entity and it is called catamenial pneumothorax if the recurrence of pneumothorax is related to the period of menstruation. Several hypotheses about its pathogenesis are suggested including spontaneous rupture of the bulla, endometrial implants of the visceral pleura, and passage of air from the genital tract through endometrial fenestration of the diaphragm. Pneumothorax is associated with chest pain and dyspnea within 72 hours of the onset of menses in young women and developed usually at right side. We report a case of 32-year-old woman who had bilateral pneumothorax and thoracic endometriosis confirmed histopathologically in the visceral pleura by thoracotomy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1002-1007
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• 1994

The spontaneous pneumothorax occurs subsequent to a disruption in the continuity of the visceral pleura with escape of free air into the pleural space included primary & secondary pneumothorax that is unrelated to identifiable etiologies such as trauma. In. the 33 year period 1960 to 1993, the 230 cases of open thoracotomy were carried out for definitive treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax, at the Dept. of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. There were 193 men & 37 women. They ranged in age from 15 years old to 72 years old. The lesion site was on the right side in 117 and on the left in 97, the 16 cases were in bilateral lesions.Surgical indications included recurrence in 98 cases, persistent air leak in 68 cases, nonexpansion of the lung 37 cases, roentgenologically apparent bullae & blebs in 23 cases, bilateral lesions in 16 cases,combined hemothorax & prevent for recurrence in each 2 cases. The types of operation were bullectomy in 207 cases, wedge resection in 13 cases, decortication & B.P.F. closure in 6 cases,lobectomy in 2 cases, pneumonectomy, plication in each I case. The post operative complication developed in 18 cases[7.8 %], there was I case of death due to sepsis. We believed that open thoracotomy with resection or obliteration of blebs & pleurodes is provided the best protection against recurrence.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.344-349
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• 2009

Background: The clinical history and physical findings of the patients with spontaneous pneumothorax depend largely on the extent of the collapse of the lung and the presence of pre-existing pulmonary disease. Large primary spontaneous pneumothorax is a possible serious condition and. so more active treatment will be necessary for these patients. The therapeutic guideline for large pneumothorax remains controversial. Therefore, by assessing the clinical results of surgical treatment for large primary pneumothorax, we aim to determine the indicators of treatment. Material and Method: Among 348 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax and who underwent surgical treatment from August 2004 through December 2007, 58 patients who responded to treatment for a large primary pneumothorax were included in the current study. We then retrospectively evaluated the operative findings and the surgical results. The patients with a pneumothorax of 80% or more, including those patients with tension pneumothorax, were considered to have a "large pneumothorax". Most of these patients Should be treated with a 12F chest tube. Thoracoscopic wedge resection was considered for treating recurrent pneumothorax, continuous air leakage, controlateral pneumothorax and first episode pneumothorax with visible blebs (> 1cm) seen on the computed tomography. Result: There were 50 men and 8 women with a mean age of 28.2 years (range: $14\sim54$ years). The mean length of hospitalization was 5.3 days (range: $2\sim10$ days). Nine patients underwent chest tube drainage only. Forty-nine patients underwent thoracoscopic wedge resection. The mean follow up time was 27.8 months (range: $10\sim58$ months). The actual site of air leakage could be located in 35 patients (71.4%) and this was correlated with pleural adhesion (p=0.005). The initial air leakage tended to be more correlated with intra-operative air leakage, although this was not statistically significant (p=0.066). The recurrence rate was 11.1 % for the patients with chest tube drainage and 2.0% for the patients with thoracoscopic wedge resection. Conclusion: Large primary pneumothorax requires an early diagnosis and early treatment. Thoracoscopic wedge resection may help to prevent recurrence of large primary pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.812-816
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• 2000

Background ; To evaluate the efficacy of Fibrin glue to decrease recurrence in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS) for a treatment of spontaneous penumothorax. Material and Method : All medical records of 17 patients who underwent a thoracoscopic wedge resections of bullae with stapling device with Fibrin glue in our institute between May 1998 and December 1999 were reviewed. variables analyzed include affected sites primary indication of VATS. duration from admission to discharge duration of postoperative stay duration of chest tube drainage recurrence and complication. There were 16 men and 1 woman. Result : There was no evidence of hemodynamic instability or arterial blood gas abnormalities encountered during the procedure. Mean age at the time of the VATS was 26.9 years (range 15 to 61 years) The mean duration from admission to discharge was 7.8 days and mean postoperative stay was 5.1days mean chest tube indwelling period was 4..0 days. There was no recurrence of pneumothorx. Conclusion : Thoracoscopic wedge resections with introduction of fibrin glue are safe and effective and requires only a short hospital stay. We believe that this thoracoscopic technique will further simplify the surgical treatment of pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.521-523
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• 2021

The increasing number of studies published on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia has improved our knowledge of the disease itself and its complications. Despite a considerable number of publications on COVID-19 pneumonia-associated pneumothorax, no article on spontaneous hemopneumothorax has been found in the English-language literature. According to published case reports, pneumothorax generally occurs in hospitalized patients during treatment, whereas cases that arise in the late period after discharge are exceptional. Herein, we present a case of spontaneous hemopneumothorax occurring as a late complication of COVID-19 pneumonia on day 17 after discharge.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.67 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 2009

Background: The large caliber catheter used in the treatment of pneumothorax causes great damage to the chest wall and organs. The purpose of this study was to prove that the use of a smaller caliber catheter is effective in treating pneumothorax with decreasing admission period and that the recurrence rate of spontaneous pneumothorax is low. Methods: Patients who had been admitted for treatment of first time occurrence of pneumothorax between May, 2004 and December, 2008 were included in the study. The caliber of catheter used this study is 18 Guage (1.2mm). The efficacy of treatment, admission period and recurrence rate of treating pneumothorax with small caliber catheter were compared to the control group using a tube thoracostomy for treatment. Results: The admission period for primary spontaneous pneumothorax was 10.8$\pm$3.6 days for the group (n=68) using tube thoracostomy compared to 4.5$\pm$1.3 days for the group (n=31) using the small caliber catheter (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in recurrence rate between the two groups. Conclusion: The use of a smaller caliber catheter for the treatment of pneumothorax reduces the admission period without a significant increase in recurrence rates.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.447-453
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• 1988

Intrapleural instillation of tetracycline as a preventive measure against recurrence in spontaneous pneumothorax was performed at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital for 3 years from Jul. 1984 to Aug. 1987. In this period, 124[70.0%] out of 177 patients of spontaneous pneumothorax who received closed thoracostomy were followed up. Tetracycline pleurodesis was applied to 32 cases. The recurrence rate of the tetracycline instillation group was lower than that of noninstillation group. In patients with first attack, the recurrence rate was 12.5% in the instillation group and 35.3% in the noninstillation group. In the second episodes, 25.6% and 83.3%[p< 0.01], in the third episodes 25.0%, 100.0%[p< 0.05]. In total cases, 18.8% and 39.8%[p< 0.05] of recurrence rates were observed. Systemic or local reactions such as fever, chest pain, and pleural effusion were observed in 23 patients[71.9%] after instillation, but all were transient and benign without sequelae. In cases of systemic or local reactions the recurrence rate was lower than that with no reactions but with no statistical significance. In the four patients primarily treated with tetracycline pleurodesis who then underwent thoracotomy, mild alterations were shown in the pleurae except dense adhesions at the previous thoracotomy sites. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of durations of hospitalization and post-treatment recurrences.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.135-139
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• 1981

Thymolipoma is extremely uncommon benign mediastinal tumor consisting of fatty and thymic tissue. Only 50 verified cases have been reported in the world literatures. This one case is the first reported example of surgically treated thymolipoma associated with spontaneous pneumothorax. A thirty-two year old male patient had been in good health until two days prior to admission, when he noted sudden dyspnea associated with an aching pain over the left precordium. The dyspnea and chest pain had become progressively worse. The physical examination revealed that left hemithorax was tympanic sound on percussion and absence of breathing sound on auscultation and point of maximal impulse was located on the 4th intercostal space at the left sternal border. Emergency closed thoracostomy was performed under the impression of tension type spontaneous pneumothorax of the left lung. After closed thoracostomy, point of maximal impulse was not changed inspire of full expansion of the left lung and chest X-ray was strongly suggested pericardial effusion or cardiomegaly which couldn`t account for by clinical course and hemodynamic evidence. EKG, echocardiogram, bronchofiberoscophy, bronchogram and diagnostic thoracentesis was performed. On Dec. 8, 1980, operation was performed under the impression of mediastinal tumor in the anterior mediastinum. At left posterolateral thoractomy, a large fatty mass, measuring 35 x 27 x 13 Cm in dimension and weighing 3350 gm, was resected and multiple bullae on the apicoposterior segment of the left upper lobe was resected and continuously sutured. The pathologic diagnosis of the fatty mass was thymolipoma. The postoperative course was uneventful and discharged in good general conditions.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.292-294
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• 2008

Diffuse pulmonary ossification is a rare entity which was reported just a case in Korea, defined as "wide spread heterotropic bone formation within the lung parenchyme", and it's pathogenesis remains unclear. Generally, diffuse pulmonary ossification is diagnosed by autopsy because most of case is asymptomatic, and classified as either nodular and dendriform diagnosed pathologic examination. We reviewed a case of diffuse dendriform pulmonary ossification with spontaneous pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2016

Background: This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of staple line coverage using a polyglycolic acid patch and fibrin glue without pleural abrasion to prevent recurrent postoperative pneumothorax. Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out of 116 operations performed between January 2011 and April 2013. During this period, staple lines were covered with a polyglycolic acid patch and fibrin glue in 58 cases (group A), while 58 cases underwent thoracoscopic bullectomy only (group B). Results: The median follow-up period was 33 months (range, 22 to 55 months). The duration of chest tube drainage was shorter in group A (group A $2.7{\pm}1.2day$ vs. group B $3.9{\pm}2.3day$, p=0.001). Prolonged postoperative air leakage occurred more frequently in group B than in group A (43% vs. 19%, p=0.005). The postoperative recurrence rate of pneumothorax was significantly lower in group A (8.6%) than in group B (24.1%) (p=0.043). The total cost of treatment during the follow-up period, including the cost for the treatment of postoperative recurrent pneumothorax, was not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.43). Conclusion: Without pleural abrasion, staple line coverage with a medium-sized polyglycolic acid patch and fibrin glue after thoracoscopic bullectomy for primary spontaneous pneumothorax is a useful technique that can reduce the duration of postoperative pleural drainage and the postoperative recurrence rate of pneumothorax.