Platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome after pulmonary lobectomy: a rare entity with a difficult diagnosis

Abstract

Platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) is a rare clinical entity. It is characterized by position-dependent dyspnoea and oxygen desaturation in the upright position with orthodeoxia resolving in the supine position, and is mainly associated with cardiac defects. Only 9 cases of post-lobectomy POS have been reported in the literature. We describe a case of POS in a woman who underwent a lobectomy and in whom POS was diagnosed and treated.

Keywords: Patent foramen ovalis; Platypnoea–orthodeoxia syndrome; Pulmonary lobectomy.