Large Intrathoracic Desmoid Tumor and Re-Expansion Pulmonary Edema: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Re-expansion pulmonary edema is a potentially life-threatening situation following thoracic surgery of a compromised lung. We report the case of a 24-year-old female scheduled for a resection of a large intrathoracic desmoid tumor that presented with re-expansion pulmonary edema at the conclusion of her surgery and discuss the clinical presentation, mechanism and predictors of this entity and review similar cases reported in the literature.