Pain in scar as an early symptom of acquired thoracic lung hernia

Hernia of the lung manifests itself as an elastic, usually replaceable, swelling in the chest wall, which changes in size during inspiration and expiration. It does not generally cause any symptoms. We describe the case history of a 49 yr old man with an acquired thoracic lung hernia, which had first presented three years previously as pain in an operation scar during coughing and lifting. Histopathology of the excised lung tissue showed abnormalities suggestive of previous episodes of strangulation.