Journal of medicine and life
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Case Reports
Whole lung lavage for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis after surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax.
Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a relatively rare lung disorder, probably under diagnosed, characterized by the accumulation of lipoproteinaceosus material in the lung alveoli. The primary (acquired or idiopathic) form occurs in more than 90% of all cases. Whole lung lavage is considered the golden standard of treatment. In this report, we describe a rare case of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis with severe and incapacitating respiratory, in which whole lung lavage followed the thoracotomy for spontaneous pneumothorax. ⋯ The most severe forms of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, in which hypoxemia and cyanosis occur, have a high mortality risk during anaesthesia and whole lung lavage. When a rare complication like spontaneous pneumothorax occurs, the suturing of the pulmonary apical blebs seems to be the only viable solution, despite the high risk of dehiscence of the sutures due to the poor pulmonary tissue integrity at the time of the whole lung lavage and during postoperative care.