title: Treatment of empyema and bronchopleural fistula by bovine pericardium and latissimus flap.
abstract: Management of empyema with bronchopleural fistula remains a challenge. A 38-year-old man who had bullous emphysema was hospitalized on account of a right-sided necrotizing pneumonia complicated by empyema that mandated a tube drainage. Persistent air leak from the chest tube was noted, and chest computed tomography confirmed an empyema cavity with a suspicious bronchopleural fistula. This complex condition was successfully treated using fibrin glue with buttressed bovine pericardium to seal the fistula, followed by obliteration of the empyema cavity using a pedicled muscle flap of the latissimus dorsi. There was no recurrence of empyema at a follow-up 5 years after this procedure.
authors: Division of Thoracic Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors: Yuan-Ming
authors: YM
authors: Tsai
authors: Shao-Liang
authors: SL
authors: Chen
authors: Chih-Ming
authors: CM
authors: Hsieh
authors: Cheng-Kuang
authors: CK
authors: Chang
authors: Ching
authors: C
authors: Tzao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001983:Bronchial Fistula / Q000601:surgery*; D002417:Cattle; D004653:Empyema / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010496:Pericardium / Q000637:transplantation*; D010995:Pleural Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D016156:Respiratory Tract Fistula / Q000601:surgery*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous