[Malformative giant emphysema bulla. Report of a case in childhood]

Bullous pneumopathy is considered a surgical disease, although her treatment is still discussed. The initial attempts of surgical treatment were founded on erroneous physiopathological concepts and date back to early years of 1900. These surgical treatments intended to external drainage of giant bullae, their marsupialized or to reduction of extension of bullae by pneumoperitonaeum, section of phrenic nerve or thoracoplasty. The definition of emphysematous bullae has been much improved with the development of computed tomography. A precise study of their size, of their position and of condition of residual pulmonary parenchyma may be considered important to decide the surgical treatment: this must determine the removal of bulla and the reexpansion of compressed pulmonary parenchyma. The Authors report a case of giant bulla, initially wrong interpreted as pneumothorax, of exceptional observation for her malformative origin, diagnoses and surgical treated on an eleven years old child.