A case report of life-threatening hemothorax after percutaneous lung biopsy successfully managed with embolization

CT-guided lung biopsy is a widely used procedure for tissue identification. The complications are divided into minor and major with the latter being described as low rate. Hemothorax is reported at a rate of 0.092% and predominantly results from the injury of intercostals or internal mammary arteries. We present the case of 81-year old woman with a right upper lobe mass referred for a CT-guided biopsy. Four hours after the procedure, rapid deterioration of patient's status was observed. A massive hemothorax was reported due to the transection of an intratumoral pulmonary branch. The following management involved successful emergent embolization of the injured branch of the pulmonary artery using a combination of coils and gel foam. One of the theories possibly explaining this extremely rare complication involves the possibility of underlying pulmonary hypertension.