This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kouerinis, I.A. Articles by Bellenis, I.P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kouerinis, I.A. Articles by Bellenis, I.P. Related Collections Lung - other Great vessels Chest wall

Spontaneous pneumothorax: are we missing something?

Department of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece

^* Corresponding author. Address: King George 24, 11635 Athens, Greece. Tel.: +30-210-720-1506 (Off.)/210-721-0451 (Res.); fax: +30-210-722-4449
ionbellenis{at}hotmail.com

Most thoracic surgeons overlook the fact that spontaneous pneumothorax is one of the pulmonary complications of connective tissue disorders such as Marfan or Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, and they consider it as primary. In the following report we describe a unique case of spontaneous rupture of the sigmoid secondary to a spontaneous recurrent contralateral pneumothorax in a young patient with undiagnosed Marfan syndrome. The aim of this presentation is to raise a high index of suspicion of every thoracic surgeon to include in his differential diagnosis the connective tissue disorders in any case of spontaneous pneumothorax and if so, to follow further diagnostic procedures to anticipate any other visceral complications.

Key Words: Spontaneous; Pneumothorax; Visceral; Rupture; Marfan; Ehlers-Danlos