Cor Vasa 2013, 55(6):e533-e535 | DOI: 10.1016/j.crvasa.2013.05.001

Re-expansion pulmonary oedema-fatal complication of mediastinal tumour removal

Enikő Havránková^a,*, Emőke Šteňová^b, Ingrid Olejárová^a

^a Oddelenie ansteziológie a intenzívnej medicíny, Národný ústav srdcových a cievnych chorôb, Bratislava, Slovensko

^b I. interná klinika, Lekárska fakulta Univerzity Komenského v Bratislave a Univerzitná nemocnica Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovensko

We report a case of re-expansion pulmonary oedema (RPE) occurring after a mediastinal tumour removal procedure. RPE is a rare complication associated with the treatment of a collapsed lung caused by pneumothorax, pleural effusion or tumour. The risk factors are a longer period (more than three days) of collapsed lungs, the volume of intrathoracic lesion, loss of surfactant and the patient's age. Treatment of RPE is difficult due to there being no clear pathophysiology, and is associated with high mortality. Careful management and clinical guidelines are needed to render the therapy more effective.

Keywords: Atelectasis; Mediastinal neoplasms; Re-expansion pulmonary oedema; Teratoma

Received: April 24, 2013; Accepted: May 9, 2013; Published: December 1, 2013  Show citation