[Detection of bronchopleural fistula by ventilation scintigraphy. Based on one case]

Bronchopleural fistula (BPF) is a rare but extremely serious complication of lung resection surgery. Its diagnosis is often overlooked in the clinical evolution of the patients undergoing surgery due to the subacute presentation of the picture. The procedures used to detect it are either invasive or have low accuracy. We report the case of a patient with lung carcinoma treated by left pneumonectomy in whom BPF was suspected after an episode of coughing and expectoration. The conventional chest x-ray did not show any significant findings while the (99m)Tc-DTPA ventilation lung scintigraphy demonstrated bronchopleural communication in a very early phase.