Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome in a patient presenting with familial spontaneous pneumothorax.

Abstract

Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome is a recently discovered autosomal-dominant disease caused by a mutation in the folliculin gene. We report a patient with familial spontaneous pneumothorax who was found to have BHD syndrome. Patients with a personal and family history of pneumothoraces and computed tomographic (CT) findings of multiple pulmonary cysts should alert the thoracic surgeon to this syndrome; additional evaluation and testing may be warranted.