[Pulmonary artery stump thrombosis following pneumonectomy].
BACKGROUND
Pulmonary artery stump thrombosis has been reported after pneumonectomy. The prevalence of risk factors for and outcome associated with this condition remain to be clearly evaluated.


METHODS
We describe three cases of pulmonary artery stump thrombosis occurring after pneumonectomy. No pulmonary embolism was observed despite the absence of anticoagulation therapy. The prevalence of arterial stump thrombosis after pneumonectomy has been estimated as 12%. It is often detected by CT scanning performed systematically as part of the routine follow up of lung cancer. Thrombus was identified as a filling defect with concave or convex margins, located at the bottom of the stump.


CONCLUSIONS
Only one case of pulmonary embolism associated with pulmonary artery stump thrombosis has been described. The absence of complications associated with thrombus in this site suggests that anticoagulant therapy is not likely to be of benefit.
Dury
S
S
Service de Pneumologie, Hôpital Maison Blanche, CHU de Reims, France. sdury@chu-reims.fr
Toubas
O
O
Delepine
G
G
Deslee
G
G
Lebargy
F
F
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011651:Pulmonary Artery; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed