Management of Bilateral Necrotizing Bronchial Dehiscence following a Double Lung Transplantation

Necrotizing bronchial dehiscence following lung transplantation is a rare and deadly complication with no strict management consensus. Here, we report the case of a patient who underwent bilateral sequential lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis through a clamshell incision and developed, on postoperative day 17, complete bilateral anastomotic dehiscence. The latter was attributed to a Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aspergillus necrotizing infection. The patient was managed surgically using a bilateral posterolateral thoracotomy approach with resection of the bronchial margins, end-to-end re-anastomosis and intercostal muscle coverage.
Source: The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Source Type: research