Médecine pulmonaire et respiratoire

Post-traumatic Lung Herniation through Chest Wall

Abstract

Shegu Gilbert, Devender Singh and Sivakumar MK

Traumatic lung herniation through the chest wall is a rare clinical entity. Trauma may cause displacement, distortion and deficiency to the tissues of the chest wall which aids lung herniation. Here, we present a 68 year old gentleman who has sustained blunt injury to the left chest due to fall from a height after alcohol intake. He was treated with analgesics for musculoskeletal pain and then he was treated with antiplatelet for suspected angina. CT thorax shows a herniating left lower lobe that results from a defect in the sixth intercostal space and dislocation of the rib at the costochondral junction. Surgical repair for the defect was performed successfully and the patient was discharged home on the 6th post-operative day. There was no evidence of recurrent hernia at his 3-month follow-up visit.