[Resection of lung cancer complicated by pleural empyema]

In a 53-year-old man, carcinoma of the lung was resected and was complicated by pleural empyema. Two days after fiberoptic bronchoscopy, he developed a high fever and was found to have pleural empyema. After thoracic drainage and other palliative treatment, the right lower lobe and empyema cavity were resected. The postoperative course was uneventful and he was discharged 3 weeks after the operation, but he died of cervical and intrathoracic lymph node recurrence 5 months later. Surgical treatment of malignant lung cancer complicated by pleural empyema has been reported 10 times, including 3 reports from Japan. According to those reports, post-operative complications are rare, and long survival is possible. Therefore, surgical resection is indicated in some cases.