AIR EMBOLUS COMPLICATING TRANSTHORACIC PERCUTANEOUS NEEDLE-BIOPSY

Transthoracic percutaneous needle biopsy has become popular for evalua tion of pulmonary nodules. However, it is a procedure with morbidity a nd mortality that is not negligible. In this article, we report massiv e air embolus complicating needle biopsy in a patient with amyloidosis . A negative biopsy does not exclude malignancy, and if surgical excis ion will be performed regardless of the result, preoperative assessmen t using this technique may not be necessary.