Introduction: The yellow nail syndrome is a rare condition that is easily diagnosed but the nail manifestations are poorly understood.
Case report: A 51 year old patient presented with a chronic cough. The diagnosis was based on the typical appearance of the nails. The patient had bilateral basal bronchiectasis. Daily physiotherapy with bronchial drainage lead to a progressive improvement in the respiratory symptoms without recourse to antibiotics. Surprisingly the abnormalities of the nails disappeared after 2 years treatment.
Conclusion: This observation illustrates the possibility of spontaneous resolution of severe nail abnormalities during the course of the yellow nail syndrome.