Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax in a 32-Week Complicated Pregnancy

Abstract

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax during pregnancy is a very rare entity. We present a 37-year-old Caucasian woman with spontaneous pneumothorax during the 32nd week of her fourth pregnancy who was treated with intercostal chest drain and was followed up with chest ultrasound. The patient experienced two more episodes of recurrent pneumothorax during pregnancy and puerperium and a uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) was performed. Few such cases have been reported previously in the literature, and there are no relevant medical guidelines. Treatment options include surveillance of a collapsed lung, conservative management with intercostal chest drain, and surgical management with the use of VATS.

Keywords: pneumothorax; pregnancy; spontaneous; ultrasound chest; video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (vats).