Pulmonary & Respiratory Medicine

Spontaneous Tension Hemothorax in a Young Male with a Nuss Implant

Abstract

Guorun Holm Jacobsen, Bodil Brandt and Sabrina Gade Ellesøe

A 19-year-old male presented with upper abdominal pain, shortness of breath and loss of consciousness. X-rays revealed a tension hemothorax and a chest tube was inserted evacuating 2500 ml of blood. Bleeding in the tube ceased after the initial evacuation and the patient was monitored closely and could be discharged in good health on the second day after admission. We hypothesize, that the tension hemothorax was preceded by a spontaneous pneumothorax, which caused a tear in scar tissue following the Nuss procedure five months previously.