Inability to Ventilate Due to a Sudden Intraoperative Tension Hydrothorax

Gregory Smith1, Ashwin Jitheesh2, Austin Le2

  • 1Medicine, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York, USA.

Cureus
|August 14, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Sudden ventilation failure during surgery can stem from rare pleural complications. Tension hydrothorax, a buildup of fluid in the pleural space, can cause cardiopulmonary arrest in patients with limited fluid tolerance.

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