Korean J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg.  2006 Dec;39(12):949-952.

Lung Cancer Incidentally Found on Surgery of Spontaneous Pneumothorax: A case report

• Kim M
• Song CM
• Jung SC
• Kim WS
• Shin YC
• Kim BY

Abstract

Spontaneous pneumothorax is rarely occurred as an initial sign of primary lung cancer. As a lot of these cases have already advanced, even then surgical resection is performed, the prognosis is often undesirable. We happened to find a ruptured cavity on a 65-year-old male patient who had suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis in the past, while performing VATS bullectomy for simple spontaneous pneumothorax. Then, as a result of frozen biopsy, it was diagnosed as squamous cell cancer. Because the tumor was infiltrated from the upper lobe into the lower lobe passing by fissure, we should remove by pneumonectomy and the pathologic stage was found stage I (T2N0M0). When we made an follow-up observation for one year and a half, there was neither relapse nor complication. When there appears spontaneous pneumothorax to the high risk group for lung cancer who were smokers over forty-year old, with chronic bronchitis or pulmonary emphysema, it needs to have a closer observation on a base lung disease such as lung cancer through chest CT, and it is also necessary to make more active approach by performing the surgical operation through a thoracoscopy when there is a continued air release.

Keyword

Pneumothorax; Lung neoplasm

MeSH Terms

Aged
Biopsy
Bronchitis, Chronic
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Lung Diseases
Lung Neoplasms*
Lung*
Male
Neoplasms, Squamous Cell
Pneumonectomy
Pneumothorax*
Prognosis
Pulmonary Emphysema
Recurrence
Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted
Thoracoscopy
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary