Abstract:

Pleuroscopy, also known as medical thoracoscopy (MT), is an important tool for pleural disease management. Removal of foreign body (FB) by MT was reported in a few reports because it can identify the position of a FB in the pleural cavity and can be used for its urgent removal. In this study, we describe the case of a male patient with a ruptured lung abscess and a rare complication of self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) migration into the pleural cavity via a bronchopleural fistula after the management of obstructive airway disease. An experienced pulmonologist successfully removed the SEMS from the pleural cavity using semi-rigid pleuroscopy under local anesthesia and conscious sedation in a bronchoscopy suite.

Cheng, Wu, Chen, Liao, Tu (2018). Medical thoracoscopy removal of a self-expandable metallic stent migration into pleural cavity. Journal of thoracic disease, 2018 May;10(5):3054-3058. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29997972