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Pneumocephalus complicating routine thoracotomy: symptoms, diagnosis and management
1Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
|January 1, 1995
Abstract:
Pneumocephalus resulting from a subarachnoid-pleural fistula most commonly occurs after trauma. Such a complication is very rarely seen after thoracotomy alone, with 15 cases reported to date in the literature. We report a case of pneumocephalus and subarachnoid-pleural fistula that developed secondary to thoracotomy. It was diagnosed by postmyelography computed tomography and treated with open surgical repair after a trial of conservative therapy failed. The presenting symptoms and signs, diagnostic methods, and options for therapy are reviewed.