Two kinds of cystic lung lesions with pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis in a male

Abstract

A 34-year-old male with frequent recurrence of right pneumothorax was admitted to our hospital. He was a current smoker and outwardly male without genital aplasia. He was diagnosed as tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) at 2 year-old and underwent transcatheter arterial embolization for right renal hemorrhage due to renal tumor 2 years ago. Chest Computed Tomography showed that he had multiple tiny round cystic lesions with thin wall in both lungs. The recurrent pneumothorax was expected to be associated with TSC-Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). Video-assisted thoracic surgery was successfully performed. The operative and histological findings revealed that the bullae were classified into two groups; emphysematous bullae and bullae due to LAM. His postoperative course was uneventful. TSC-LAM is extremely rare, but in some cases the clinical recognition might be escaped due to subtle findings of bullae in early LAM, resulting in diagnosis as spontaneous pneumothorax.