Contralateral tension pneumothorax following unilateral chest tube drainage of bilateral pneumothoraces in a heart-lung transplant patient.
case_report · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 10531187.
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Abstract
Bilateral pneumothoraces can result from unilateral air leak after heart-lung transplantation. The recommended initial management of such patients is insertion of a unilateral chest tube. We report a patient who developed bilateral pneumothoraces after undergoing transbronchial biopsies 2 years after a heart-lung transplant. The unilateral chest tube failed to drain the contralateral pneumothorax and a tension pneumothorax developed. The advocated approach should be used with caution.
Medical subject headings
- Chest Tubes
- Heart-Lung Transplantation
- Pneumothorax
- Postoperative Complications