POSTPNEUMONECTOMY PULMONARY-EDEMA

Pulmonary edema is an uncommon but serious complication associated wit h major resection of the lung, usually after pneumonectomy. The pathop hysiology of this condition is not completely understood, but recent e xperimental and clinical data suggest that this condition results from a combination of increased filtration gradient across the pulmonary m icrocirculation together with hyperpermeability. Overzealous periopera tive infusions of fluid have been implicated in clinical cases. We pre sent the reports of 2 patients with postpneumonectomy pulmonary edema we recently encountered and a review of the literature to provide diag nostic and therapeutic guidelines in dealing with this serious complic ation.