[Peroperative pneumothorax].

Pneumothorax during operation is always clinically serious. The symptoms are usually sudden cyanosis, accompanied by cardio-vascular collapse and difficulty or even impossibility to ventilate owing to increased pressures of insufflation. Immediate or secondary bilateral pneumothorax is relatively common, then may appear associated complications such as subcutaneous emphysema or pneumo-mediastinum. Early diagnosis is necessary to apply simple treatment and avoid a course which may be rapidly fatal. The authors report 3 cases of pneumothorax during anesthesia and consider the clinical forms, the mechanisms and causes of this accident.