Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2018 Aug;97(35):e11894.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000011894.

Hereditary multiple exostoses of the ribs as an uncommon cause of pneumothorax: A case report

Antoine Dumazet  1 , Claire Launois, Sandra Dury, Frédéric Sailhan, Marco Alifano, Maxime Dewolf, François Lebargy, Gaëtan Deslee, Jeanne-Marie Perotin
Affiliations
Case Reports

Hereditary multiple exostoses of the ribs as an uncommon cause of pneumothorax: A case report

Antoine Dumazet et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2018 Aug.

Abstract

Rationale: Hereditary multiple exostoses (HME) is a genetic musculoskeletal condition causing multiple exostoses. Rib location of exostosis can be complicated by thoracic injuries.

Patient concerns and diagnoses: We report a case of pneumothorax in a 32-year-old man with a partial left-sided pneumothorax caused by an exostosis of the fourth and fifth ribs.

Interventions and outcomes: Clinical and radiological presentations allowed a conservative management. A video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was performed a few weeks later to avoid any recurrence.

Lessons: Rib exostosis represents an unusual cause of pneumothorax. Any local modification of symptoms or size of the exostosis should lead to investigations in regard to chondrosarcoma transformation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A, Chest X-ray showing left pneumothorax. B–D, Chest CT scan showing left pneumothorax, peripheral emphysema and rib exostosis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A, B, Surgical resection of rib exostoses.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bovée JVMG. Multiple osteochondromas. Orphanet J Rare Dis 2008;3:3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schmale GA, Conrad EU, Raskind WH. The natural history of hereditary multiple exostoses. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1994;76:986–92. - PubMed
    1. Clement ND, Porter DE. Hereditary multiple exostoses: anatomical distribution and burden of exostoses is dependent upon genotype and gender. Scott Med J 2014;59:35–44. - PubMed
    1. Asmat A, Tam J. Spontaneous haemothorax from an osteochondroma. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2009;36:394. - PubMed
    1. Chawla JK, Jackson M, Munro FD. Spontaneous pneumothoraces in hereditary multiple exostoses. Arch Dis Child 2013;98:495–6. - PubMed

Publication types