Acute pulmonary embolism after conservative surgery for renal cyst: a case report

A case of acute pulmonary embolism which developed one week after conservative surgery of the renal cyst is reported. He was 41 years old and had a long habit of cigarette smoking. He underwent wedge resection of the renal mass which was proved to be a multilocular renal cyst pathologically. The acute pulmonary embolism which developed on the seventh postoperative day was confirmed by lung scintigraphy. The patient recovered from the disease by thrombolytic therapy. Postoperative bed rest seemed to be closely associated with the incidence in this case. Early ambulation is recommended. In addition, the thromboprophylactic therapy may be justified in patients undergoing kidney-sparing surgery which requires postoperative bed rest.