Pulmonary cavitation and massive hemoptysis caused by an unsuspected intraparenchymal foreign body.
A patient presented with massive hemoptysis, and a chest roentgenogram revealed a right lower lobe cavity which contained a movable mass of soft tissue density. He had sustained a gunshot wound to the chest seven years earlier. Thoracotomy was performed for uncontrollable hemoptysis, and parenchymal cavitation was found which contained a plastic foreign body. We retrieved a film following the original injury which revealed a mass density that proved to be a plastic wadding capsule from a shotgun shell. This type of complication from intraparenchymal foreign bodies is discussed and the unusual roentgenographic presentation of this patient is considered.
D000328:Adult; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D006469:Hemoptysis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D011859:Radiography; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000150:complications*