Spontaneous pneumothorax secondary to
lung carcinoma is very rare (0.05% of all pneumothoraces). We
report a case of a 66-year-old
male with persistent right-sided
spontaneous pneumothorax, initially suspected as
secondary to bullous
emphysema. Intraoperative findings consisted of an apical
bulla with a nonspecific carnification at its base and a
bulla at the lower lobe. Surprisingly, histological examination revealed an undefined non-
small cell carcinoma. Although
spontaneous pneumothorax associated with
lung carcinoma is rare, suspicion for
malignancy should be raised in
patients over 40 presenting with
spontaneous pneumothorax, especially in high
risk patients such as
smokers or
patients with
chronic bronchitis or
emphysema.