Spontaneous pneumothorax in a single lung transplant recipient-a blessing in disguise: A case report

End-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the common lung diseases referred for lung transplantation. According to the international society of heart and lung transplantation, 30% of all lung transplantations are carried out for COPD alone. When compared to bilateral lung transplant, single-lung transplant (SLT) has similar short-term and medium-term results for COPD. For patients with severe upper lobe predominant emphysema, lung volume reduction surgery is an excellent alternative which results in improvement in functional status and long-term mortality. In 2018, endobronchial valves were approved by the Food and Drug Administration for severe upper lobe predominant emphysema as they demonstrated improvement in lung function, exercise capacity, and quality of life. However, the role of endobronchial valves in native lung emphysema in SLT patients has not been studied.

We describe an unusual case of severe emphysema who underwent a successful SLT 15 years ago and had gradual worsening of lung function suggestive of chronic lung allograft dysfunction. However, her lung function improved significantly after a spontaneous pneumothorax of the native lung resulting in auto-deflation of large bullae.

This case highlights the clinical significance of native lung hyperinflation in single lung transplant recipient and how spontaneous decompression due to pneumothorax led to clinical improvement in our patient.