[Improvement of mediastinal shift after left pneumonectomy by injection of sulfur hexafluoride]

We encountered a 53-year-old patient with a carcinoid in the left main bronchus. His left lung volume was decreased and the mediastinum was markedly shifted to left. After sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) was injected into the postpneumonectomy pleural space, the mediastinum gradually moved to the center. As reported by many authors, SF6 is generally used after pneumonectomy to prevent mediastinal shift and overinflation of the remaining lung. However, in our patient, SF6 injection reversed mediastinal shift and improved the overinflated lung.