Contralateral tension pneumothorax after extubation following thoracoscopic wedge resection: a case report
- 1ursing Department, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
Abstract
Contralateral tension pneumothorax is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication after thoracic surgery and may be difficult to distinguish from more common postoperative respiratory complications. We report a case of a 53-year-old female patient who developed a right tension pneumothorax during recovery from anesthesia following a thoracoscopic left wedge resection performed under one-lung ventilation. The patient experienced severe coughing and choking during extubation; immediately after extubation, she initially presented with dyspnea and bilateral wheezing, raising suspicion of bronchospasm. Despite aggressive diagnostic and therapeutic efforts, respiratory abnormalities persisted, and the patient was ultimately diagnosed with a right-sided tension pneumothorax. Following emergency needle decompression, surgical exploration was immediately performed, revealing a ruptured band of right-sided pleural adhesions accompanied by ongoing air leakage. After definitive treatment, the patient made a smooth recovery. This case highlights that when unexplained respiratory abnormalities occur following thoracic surgery, even if initial oxygenation is adequate, the possibility of contralateral tension pneumothorax should be considered, and cough management should be optimized.
Related
- Tubeless thoracoscopic carinal resection via a subcutaneous tunneled periareolar uniportal approach: A case report
- Effect of adding preoperative serratus anterior plane block to intercostal nerve block with liposomal bupivacaine on postoperative pain in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic lung resection: study protocol for a prospective randomized controlled trial
- A Case of Radical Resection of a Mediastinal Invasive Parathyroid Tumor via a Thoracoscopic Approach.
- Contralateral atypical femoral fracture following a single dose of denosumab after incomplete teriparatide therapy in a patient with long-term bisphosphonate exposure: A case report
- Effects of multiple low-dose intranasal dexmedetomidine administration on postoperative pulmonary complications in elderly patients undergoing thoracoscopic radical resection of lung cancer: a single-center randomized controlled trial
BibTeX
@article{chen2026contralateral,
title = {{Contralateral tension pneumothorax after extubation following thoracoscopic wedge resection: a case report}},
author = {Sijie Chen and Na Zhou and Yiting Zhu and Xiaohui Yang and Huifen Lin},
journal = {Frontiers in Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2026.1958948},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2026.1958948},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Contralateral tension pneumothorax after extubation following thoracoscopic wedge resection: a case report
AU - Sijie Chen
AU - Na Zhou
AU - Yiting Zhu
AU - Xiaohui Yang
AU - Huifen Lin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Frontiers in Medicine
DO - 10.3389/fmed.2026.1958948
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2026.1958948
AB - Contralateral tension pneumothorax is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication after thoracic surgery and may be difficult to distinguish from more common postoperative respiratory complications. We report a case of a 53-year-old female patient who developed a right tension pneumothorax during recovery from anesthesia following a thoracoscopic left wedge resection performed under one-lung ventilation. The patient experienced severe coughing and choking during extubation; immediately after extubation, she initially presented with dyspnea and bilateral wheezing, raising suspicion of bronchospasm. Despite aggressive diagnostic and therapeutic efforts, respiratory abnormalities persisted, and the patient was ultimately diagnosed with a right-sided tension pneumothorax. Following emergency needle decompression, surgical exploration was immediately performed, revealing a ruptured band of right-sided pleural adhesions accompanied by ongoing air leakage. After definitive treatment, the patient made a smooth recovery. This case highlights that when unexplained respiratory abnormalities occur following thoracic surgery, even if initial oxygenation is adequate, the possibility of contralateral tension pneumothorax should be considered, and cough management should be optimized.
SN - 2296-858X
ER -