Pulmonary agenesis is a rare congenital disorder with large variability in presentation and prognosis. We describe a full-term infant born with right-sided pulmonary agenesis who underwent thoracoscopic placement of a tissue expander. He ultimately died of pulmonary hypertension. Immunohistology showed intimal hyperplasia without the loss of endothelial caveolin-1 expression. A literature review revealed that while some of these patients have favorable outcome, many succumb despite therapy.
Keywords: pulmonary agenesis; pulmonary hypertension; thoracoscopy; tissue expander.