[A case of old pulmonary tuberculosis with repeated hemoptysis which presented therapeutic difficulties]

A 74-year-old male who had been infected with pulmonary tuberculosis since 1938 underwent thoracoplasty in 1955. After the operation, no symptoms manifested until 1988 when he developed hemosputum and hemoptysis in association with a cold with fever. Although he was admitted to a hospital, the symptoms could not be controlled, so he was referred to our department. The lesion causing the hemorrhage was considered to be in the upper lobe of the left lung. However, it would have been difficult to preserve respiratory function in the case of left upper lobectomy, because he had already undergone thoracoplasty on the right side. Therefore, bronchial artery embolization (BAE) using Spongel was performed. Second embolization was performed because hemoptysis referred after one month. However, the hemoptysis recurred again, so that two branches of the left subclavian artery and the left internal thoracic artery were ligated. No hemoptysis and hemosputum occurred for a while, but 2 years and 9 months after the operation, the patient was admitted due to hemoptysis with fever and coughing. Since the bronchial artery was embolized twice with spongel and twice with platinum coil, the patient's course has been good for 5 months.