Delayed Onset Contralateral Reexpansion Pulmonary Edema after Tension Pneumothorax: A Case Report / 대한구급학회지

A 16-year-old male patient presented with left side chest pain. The initial chest radiograph showed tension pneumohtorax on the left side. Air was evacuated by closed thoracostomy. About 72 hours later, during administration of general anesthesia for thoracoscopic bullectomy, unilateral pulmonary edema affecting the contralateral lung developed without definite infiltration in the left lung. The operation was suspended and the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit. A close observation of the patient and conservative therapy were enough to manage this pulmonary edema. This is a very rare manifestation of reexpansion pulmonary edema that is unpredictable and could be fatal. The clinical course is described in this article.