Purpose: Spontaneous hemopneumothorax (SHP) is a rare life threatening disorder. We retrospectively investigated patients with SHP who were treated with video- assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), and report our results.
Methods: From January 1993 to July 2006, 239 patients with spontaneous pneumothorax were treated, among whom 11 (4.6%) were diagnosed with SHP.
Results: All 11 patients had a collapsed lung condition worse than moderate and a chest tube inserted, of whom 10 underwent an emergency operation. The points of hemorrhaging, each of which were in the apical portion of the lung, were easily revealed during VATS, and we were able to distinguish between brisk flow and seepage. Hemostasis was acquired using VATS in all surgery cases, while the other was treated with tube drainage. The single patient who did not undergo surgical treatment had recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax 3 months later.
Conclusion: It is important to perform surgery for SHP at the appropriate time. VATS was found to be an easily performed and safe procedure for initial treatment in patients with active hemorrhaging and massive blood clotting in the thorax. The long-term outcome of our patients with early surgical indication was excellent and we recommend early surgical treatment for SHP.