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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Transaxillary First Rib Resection for Treatment of the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Published on: September 13, 2020
Horner's syndrome: a delayed complication after thoracostomy tube removal
Dennis F Zagrodnik1, A Letch Kline
1Keesler Medical Center, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, USA; Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA.
Purpose:
Description of a complication from tube thoracostomy.
Methods:
Case report from experience at an Air Force tertiary care hospital in a 50-year-old female smoker undergoing left upper lobectomy for lung cancer.
Results:
Horner's syndrome resulted 18 hours after removal of an apical thoracostomy tube.
Conclusions:
Horner's syndrome caused by tube thoracostomy is a rare but real complication. One should avoid placing the tip of the tube in the medial thoracic apex with the intent of avoiding second-order sympathetic chain pathways. As evidenced by our patient with a delayed onset of presentation, malpositioned tubes should be repositioned before symptoms develop. Long-term prognosis is poor once Horner's syndrome develops.
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