[Spontaneous pneumothorax in pregnancy: a case report and review of the literature]

Abstract

Spontaneous pneumothorax in pregnancy is said to be a rare condition. A 37-year-old woman at 13 weeks' gestation with this rare complication, was reported. The patient was first treated by chest tube drainage, which failed to get complete reexpansion of the lung, and she was managed by thoracotomy twenty days after. She delivered, at full term, a healthy normal infant by cesarean section. Indications for operative treatment of pneumothorax in pregnancy, in general, are not absolutely defined. We believe that the usually accepted indications for operation, such as persistence of air leakage despite adequate drainage and multiple recurrences of pneumothorax, are valid during pregnancy, if the patient allows the pregnancy to proceed.