Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 26, 2021; 9(27): 8114-8119
Published online Sep 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i27.8114
Limited thoracoplasty and free musculocutaneous flap transposition for postpneumonectomy empyema: A case report
Qian-Qian Huang, Zhong-Liang He, Yong-Yong Wu, Zhi-Jun Liu
Qian-Qian Huang, Operating Room, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang Province, China
Zhong-Liang He, Yong-Yong Wu, Zhi-Jun Liu, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Huang QQ, Wu YY and Liu ZJ were the patient’s cardiothoracic surgeons and nurse, reviewed the literature and contributed to manuscript drafting; He ZL was responsible for the revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; all authors issued final approval for the version to be submitted.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this case report and the accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised accordingly.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhong-Liang He, MD, Chief Doctor, Director, Surgeon, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, No. 234 Gucui Road, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang Province, China. doctorhzl@163.com
Received: April 10, 2021
Peer-review started: April 10, 2021
First decision: May 11, 2021
Revised: May 24, 2021
Accepted: August 12, 2021
Article in press: August 12, 2021
Published online: September 26, 2021
Processing time: 159 Days and 3.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Empyema is a severe complication following pneumonectomy and is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Although there are a wide variety of treatment options, successful management remains challenging. We performed limited thoracoplasty and free vastus lateralis musculocutaneous flap transposition for postpneumonectomy empyema with a large cavity in a thin patient who had previously undergone a posterolateral thoracotomy. This treatment mode is safe and effective for such patients.