A Patient Presenting Purulent Discharge From Open Window Thoracostomy.

Kang, In Sook; Jung, Ji Min; Ryu, Yon Ju; Kim, Yookyung; Lee, Jin Hwa; Cheon, Eun Mee; Nam, Dong Ki; Chang, Jung Hyun

doi:2004.57.1.78

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 57(1); 2004 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2004;57(1):78-81.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2004.57.1.78 Published online July 1, 2004.

A Patient Presenting Purulent Discharge From Open Window Thoracostomy.

In Sook Kang, Ji Min Jung, Yon Ju Ryu, Yookyung Kim, Jin Hwa Lee, Eun Mee Cheon, Dong Ki Nam, Jung Hyun Chang

¹Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea. hs1017@ewha.ac.kr
²Department of Diagnostic radiology, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea.
³Department of Internal Medicine, Yangi Hospital, Korea.

Abstract

A 73-year-old man who had undergone a right pneumonectomy and open window thoracostomy due to tuberculous empyema, presented with purulent discharge from the previous operation site. The computed tomography of the chest showed diffuse pleural thickening and a low attenuated lesion, with air bubbles in a dependent portion of the right hemithorax. These air bubbles were revealed to be due to 7 pieces of retained surgical gauze by flexible bronchoscopy. The patient showed marked clinical improvement with diminished purulent discharge after removal of the foreign bodies.

Key Words: Thoracostomy, Computed tomography, Foreign body