[A case of vanishing lung complicated with pneumothorax and improved significantly by surgery]

A case of vanishing lung is reported. A 36-year-old man complaining of chest discomfort was admitted to our hospital. He had smoked 40 cigarettes a day for 16 years. A chest radiograph and computed tomography revealed a giant bulla which occupied almost the entire left thoracic cavity. Chest tubes were inserted percutaneously under local anesthesia into the pleural cavity to drain the air. Although the shift of the mediastinum was improved, the size of the giant bulla remained unchanged. It was therefore resected using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and mini-thoracotomy. Bullectomy was performed successfully. Residual lung re-expansion yielded good postoperative results without complications.