Local anaesthetic thoracoscopy for intractable pneumothorax in a high-risk patient

Abstract

The management of high-operative-risk patients with a pneumothorax is complicated. The case of a 79-year old man with an intractable secondary pneumothorax, who had taken oral steroids to control asthma, is presented. Since the patient could not tolerate general anaesthesia because of poor cardiac function, thoracoscopic surgery was performed under local anaesthesia. A successful lung fistula closure was achieved and the continuous air leakage disappeared immediately after the surgery. © 2012 The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.