Massive hemothorax secondary to metastatic renal carcinoma.
We present the case of a 78-year-old man with a past history of nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma who was brought to the emergency room in hypovolemic shock after suddenly collapsing at home. A chest roentgenogram taken on admission showed a large pleural effusion on the right with a mediastinal shift to the left. A contrast computed tomographic scan of his chest excluded aortic dissection. An emergency right thoracotomy was performed, which revealed a chest wall tumor that was bleeding profusely. The tumor was biopsied after the bleeding was controlled. The histologic report revealed metastatic renal cell carcinoma, which is a rare cause for a spontaneous massive hemothorax.
Chetcuti
Karen
K
Lancashire Cardiac Centre, Victoria Hospital, Whinney Heys Road, Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom. karenchetcuti212@yahoo.co.uk
Barnard
James
J
Loggos
Spiros
S
Hassan
Mohamed
M
Srivastava
Vivek
V
Mourad
Faisal
F
Makhzoum
Zyad
Z
Bittar
Mohamad N
MN
D000368:Aged; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000556:secondary*; D006491:Hemothorax / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D013899:Thoracic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000556:secondary*; D035441:Thoracic Wall