Massive pulmonary gangrene.

A 49-year-old man suffered massive necrosis of the lung subsequent to a pneumococcal lobar pneumonia. Development of massive hemoptysis required emergency lobectomy. The patient is doing well six months after surgery. Pulmonary gangrene is a rare but grave complication of the lobar pneumonia. Both pneumococcal and Klebsiella pneumonias may progress to massive pulmonary gangrene despite antibiotic treatment. Survival seems to depend on the surgical removal of the necrotic tissue, which removes the danger of sudden massive hemoptysis.