Open bronchial stump post-pneumonectomy: findings on xenon-133 ventilation imaging.
A 67-yr-old male status post right pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer who later developed an open right bronchial stump underwent a ventilation-perfusion lung scan because of episodes of recurrent dyspnea suspected to be due to pulmonary embolism. Xenon-133 ventilation images showed both rapid entry into and later washout of activity from the air-filled portion of the right thoracic cavity. A wide-open bronchial stump, documented both at bronchoscopy and later autopsy, allowed the xenon gas to freely wash out from the thoracic cavity, resulting in a different imaging pattern than for a typical bronchopleural fistula, which is usually characterized by prolonged trapping of radioactive gas within the pleural space.
Jacobson
A F
AF
Nuclear Medicine Section, Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Seattle, WA 98108.
Herzog
S A
SA
D000368:Aged; D001980:Bronchi / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D014692:Ventilation-Perfusion Ratio; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes
D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes