Baba K, Nagao K, Matsuda M, Nishimura R, Matsuoka Y, Yamashita Y, Fukuda M, Higuchi A, Matsumoto H, Murakami A, Tanaka F, Imamura F
Department of Surgery, Kumamoto Municipal Hospital, Japan.
Kyobu Geka. 1998 Oct;51(11):974-7.
We experienced two cases of spontaneous hemopeumothorax. One case was a 17-year-old male with a complaint of back pain. A chest tube for rapid pleural evacuation disclosed hemorrhage as much as 3,000 ml, with drainage volume being gradually decreased. He needed about two month's admission because of complication of pyothorax. The other case was a 46-year-old male with a complaint of chest pain. Chest X-P gave the diagnosis of right hemopeumothorax. Thirty minutes later, he became shock, and five hours later, we performed an emergency intervention of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Bleeding site of a funicular structure from the parietal pleura was stopped by clipping, with excellent postoperative results. Spontaneous hemopeumothorax is often indicated for early surgical intervention because of association with a high risk of hemorrhagic shock. In such a case, VATS is very helpful.
