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Robotic-assisted Left Pneumonectomy For Vanishing Lung Syndrome
Published on: January 23, 2026
Asymptomatic esophago-pleural fistula presenting 35 years after pneumonectomy for tuberculosis
Gregor Pache1, Christina Thuerl, Thorsten Bley
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. pache@mrs1.ukl.uni-freiburg.de
Abstract:
Postpneumonectomy esophago-pleural fistula (EPF) is rare and potentially life-threatening. It is mainly caused by surgical injury, local cancer recurrence, and chronic inflammation or infection. Patients with postpneumonectomy EPF usually present with empyema. We report a case of a clinically asymptomatic esophago-pleural fistula, diagnosed accidentally in a 64-year-old woman more than 30 years after right lobe pneumonectomy due to tuberculosis. Contrast-enhanced CT, chest radiography, and esophagogramm were the imaging modalities used together with esophagoscopy in diagnosing the EPF; however, contrast-enhanced CT in combination with oral given contrast-media is the first imaging technique of choice to evaluate esophago-pleural fistula.
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