[Spontaneous thoracic hernias--report of two cases, surgically treated]

The authors present two cases of atraumatic (spontaneous) thoracic lung hernias, which are extreme rarities in the international literature, too. Risk factors and clinical pictures discussed and operative treatments are demonstrated. The spontaneous thoracic (intercostal) hernias were provoked by intractable cough caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in both cases. Multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) scan as well as the secondary 3D 'volume rendering' (VRT) reconstructions unequivocally suggested this rare condition. Provided with the exact diagnosis, the surgical correction of the thoracic wall resulted in full recovery of the two patients. Finally, the authors briefly discuss data of thoracic hernias published in the Hungarian and the international literature. They conclude that the awareness of this extremely rare condition is important due to the high prevalence of COPD as a risk factor. Diagnostic imaging demonstrated can provide significant help in the correct diagnosis of similar cases.