Pneumothorax during anesthesia with changes in ECG.

A patient known to suffer from CNSLD was to undergo cervical lymph node dissection for gingival carcinoma. Pneumothorax developed immediately after introduction of anesthesia. In addition to the usual physical diagnostic signs, an abrupt decrease in amplitude of the QRS- complex and T -waves was observed in the ECG on the scope, the sensitivity of which remained unchanged. The ECG changes disappeared after abolition of the pneumothorax.