title: Thoracic endometriosis syndrome with bloody pleural effusion in a 28 year old woman.
abstract: Thoracic endometriosis, rarely encountered, is characterized with the localization of functional endometrium tissue in pleura, lung parenchyma or tracheobronchial system. A 28 years old female patient visited our clinic with complaints of cough and shortness of breath for the last two months. Right-sided massive pleural effusion was detected in the chest radiography and thorax computed tomography. Exudative fluid was aspirated with a haemorrhagic appearance on thoracentesis. Cytology was evaluated as suspicious. "Signet ring cells" were reported in pleural biopsy. Diagnostic biopsy was performed by video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) on the patient whose fiber-optic bronchoscopy was normal. The histopathological diagnosis was reported as "pleural endometriosis". Chemical pleurodesis was applied with asbestos-free chalk. The thorax HRCT (high resolution computed tomography) performed during menstruation was normal. Thoracentesis was needed 3 times for recurrent pleural effusion in the follow-ups and then parietal pleurectomy was performed. The patient is in postoperative 10th month follow-up and evaluated as normal clinically and as radiologically. Pleural endometriosis should be considered as a differential diagnosis in female patients with infertility with chest symptoms. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery can be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of these patients and chemical pleurodesis and parietal pleurectomy should be considered among the treatment options.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Suat Seren Chest Disease and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serpil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sevinç
authors.forename: Saban
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Unsal
authors.forename: Taner
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oztürk
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Uysal
authors.forename: Ozgür
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Samancilar
authors.forename: Seyda Ors
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.forename: Sülün
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ermete
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006491:Hemothorax / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D013577:Syndrome; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted