EXPANDABLE PROSTHESIS IN RIGHT POSTPNEUMONECTOMY SYNDROME IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE

Right pneumonectomy can lead to severe respiratory impairment due to s tenosis of the left main bronchus. This syndrome is usually treated by inserting a fixed-volume prosthesis but, in children, expandable pros theses; have the advantage of being adaptable to growth and permit pro gressive recentering of the mediastinum. We report 3 such cases, with the results of pulmonary function tests. The patients were aged 11, 17 , and 22 years at the time of implantation and had undergone pneumonec tomy during childhood for either bronchiectasis or complete pulmonary sequestration. All 3 patients are doing well, with a follow-up of 1 to 3 1/2 years. Pulmonary function tests have shown a substantial improv ement in the obstructive syndrome in 2 patients whereas, in the third patient, in whom the contralateral lung was not perfectly healthy, the functional improvement was only moderate.