• Giulio Melloni, George Cremona, Paola Ciriaco, Marco Pansera, Angelo Carretta, Giampiero Negri, and Piero Zannini.
• Department of Thoracic Surgery, San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. giulio.melloni@hsr.it
• J Trauma. 2003 Apr 1; 54 (4): 737-43.

BackgroundTraumatic pulmonary pseudocysts (TPPs) are rare sequelae of blunt chest trauma. We present a retrospective review of TPPs observed in our hospital and discuss the diagnosis, treatment, and complications of these unusual lesions.MethodsBetween 1991 and 1999, 11 TPPs were diagnosed in 10 patients. None of the lesions was detectable on the chest radiograph obtained on the day of injury. In contrast, computed tomographic scan of the chest always demonstrated the TPPs.ResultsIn nine cases, spontaneous healing of the lesions was observed. One patient with a large lesion of the left lower lobe developed significant endobronchial bleeding and underwent successful emergency lobectomy.ConclusionTPPs are often missed by chest radiography, particularly when it is obtained in the supine position, whereas computed tomographic scan allows the identification of these lesions in all cases. TPPs are self-limiting, benign lesions that usually require no specific therapy. Surgical treatment is indicated in rare instances and only when complications occur.

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