Abstract
Broncho-pleural fistula after pneumonectomy is a life-threatening condition with very high mortality rate, even if detected early. All symptomatic patients should be treated immediately. The diagnosis in the absence of symptoms poses the real difficulties of management. Early detection of asymptomatic post-pneumonectomy broncho-pleural fistula is usually fortuitous. The use of bronchoscopy allows direct and accurate evaluation of the stump. This reported case allows us to make several considerations on the treatment of fistulas, but above all to consider that the systematic bronchial stump coverage is fundamental not only for preventing fistulas, but also for limiting their enlargement and communication with the residual cavity, in order to prevent catastrophic complications.
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01 August 2022
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12055-022-01395-2
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Andrea Masperi for image elaboration.
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This work was partially supported by the Italian Ministry of Health with Ricerca Corrente and 5 × 1000 funds.
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L.G. participated in the conception, design, and writing of the article. P.E. and M.S. were involved in the data collection. B.L. and G.L. were involved in the conception and design of the article. D.S. was involved in image elaboration and design of the article. S.G. and M.A. were involved in the analysis and interpretation. G.J. and S.L. participated in the critical revision of the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Lo Iacono, G., Prisciandaro, E., Mohamed, S. et al. Cover always the bronchial stump! A flap could prevent catastrophic complications even in complete broncho-pleural fistula. Indian J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 38, 549–552 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12055-022-01386-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12055-022-01386-3