Thoracic endometriosis presenting as hemopneumothorax

Thoracic endometriosis is very rare. Usually, the thorax is the most frequent affected site outside the pelvis. Common symptoms include chest pain, dyspnea, and hemoptysis. Common manifestations include pneumothorax, hemothorax, and pulmonary or pleural nodules. In addition, symptoms and manifestati...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monaldi archives for chest disease 2022-09, Vol.93 (3)
Main Authors: El Haj Chehade, Ahel, Nasir, Ahmad Basil, Peterson, Jo Elle G, Ramseyer, Timothy, Bhardwaj, Himanshu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
endometriosis
pleural diseases
pleural effusion
pneumothorax
Women health
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Thoracic endometriosis is very rare. Usually, the thorax is the most frequent affected site outside the pelvis. Common symptoms include chest pain, dyspnea, and hemoptysis. Common manifestations include pneumothorax, hemothorax, and pulmonary or pleural nodules. In addition, symptoms and manifestations can be "catamenial" happening a few days after menstruation onset. This disease can be debilitating, causing a significant impact on the quality of life of young women. We present a case of a young female who was referred to our hospital with recurrent right-sided pleural effusions and pneumothoraces. Pleural fluid drainage was consistent with hemothorax. Transvaginal ultrasound showed mild intraperitoneal fluid in the Cul-de-Sac. Due to concerns for thoracic endometriosis, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was performed confirming the diagnosis by pathology. Therapeutic pleurectomy with diaphragmatic repair and pleurodesis was performed. The patient was started on medroxyprogesterone acetate injections two weeks after with great clinical response.
ISSN:1122-0643
2532-5264
DOI:10.4081/monaldi.2022.2401