ABSTRACT
Sonic pressure wave should be taken into consideration in all ballistic injury. We review a young gentleman with ballistic injury of his lateral chest wall. The bullet trajectory passed through the lateral chest wall. Chest radiograph shows a wedge-shaped consolidation adjacent to the wound with blunted right costophrenic angle. Subsequent CT scan confirms the consolidation adjacent to the bullet trajectory. This case report emphasizes on value of CT in ballistic chest trauma and indirect injury caused by the sonic pressure wave of the bullet.
ABSTRACT
Vanishing lung syndrome (VLS) is a rare condition characterized by giant emphysematous bullae. It is frequently misdiagnosed as pneumothorax. We describe a case of a 30-year-old male who presented with shortness of breath, reduced effort tolerance, and pleuritic chest pain for three months. He was initially diagnosed with bilateral pneumothorax based on clinical examination and chest radiograph findings. However, further imaging with a high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the thorax confirmed bilateral giant emphysematous bullae. Our patient subsequently underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and bullectomy. In this report, we discuss the clinical presentations, radiological features, and the management of VLS. We also highlight the differentiating features of VLS from a pneumothorax.
