BACKGROUND Empyema is a severe complication following pneumonectomy that is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates.Although there are a wide variety of treatment options,successful management remains chall...BACKGROUND Empyema is a severe complication following pneumonectomy that is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates.Although there are a wide variety of treatment options,successful management remains challenging when this condition is combined with a large cavity in very thin patients who had previously undergone a posterolateral thoracotomy.CASE SUMMARY We reported the case of a thin,63-year-old man with a progressive pulmonary cyst who underwent left pneumonectomy via posterolateral thoracotomy 23 years ago.After an initially uneventful postoperative course,he was readmitted with empyema and a large cavity 21 years after surgery.He was successfully treated with limited thoracoplasty,followed by free vastus lateralis musculocutaneous flap transposition.CONCLUSION This case highlights that the treatment mode of limited thoracoplasty and free vastus lateralis musculocutaneous flap transposition is safe and effective for the management of postpneumonectomy empyema with a large cavity in thin patients who had previously undergone a posterolateral thoracotomy.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND Empyema is a severe complication following pneumonectomy that is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates.Although there are a wide variety of treatment options,successful management remains challenging when this condition is combined with a large cavity in very thin patients who had previously undergone a posterolateral thoracotomy.CASE SUMMARY We reported the case of a thin,63-year-old man with a progressive pulmonary cyst who underwent left pneumonectomy via posterolateral thoracotomy 23 years ago.After an initially uneventful postoperative course,he was readmitted with empyema and a large cavity 21 years after surgery.He was successfully treated with limited thoracoplasty,followed by free vastus lateralis musculocutaneous flap transposition.CONCLUSION This case highlights that the treatment mode of limited thoracoplasty and free vastus lateralis musculocutaneous flap transposition is safe and effective for the management of postpneumonectomy empyema with a large cavity in thin patients who had previously undergone a posterolateral thoracotomy.
