Late complications of plombage

Plombage was used commonly in the management of tuberculosis before the early 1950s. From 1977 through 1990, 4 patients were seen with complications of plombage performed decades previously. Lucite spheres were used in 3 patients and paraffin in 1. One patient had bilateral apical plombage. In all cases, complications were related to infection or migration of the foreign material. Two patients had extrusion of foreign material or fluid into the chest wall. One patient had hemoptysis and infection due to erosion of a Lucite sphere into the lung. Another had intestinal obstruction subsequent to erosion into the esophagus. The patient with bilateral plombage had development of asynchronous complications on both sides. Treatment consisted of removal of the foreign material and individualized management of the remaining space. There were no operative deaths and the outcome was good in all cases.