Cavitary lung disease

A 20-year-old female Ethiopian refugee presented with a 6-month history of cough and progressive left shoulder tip pain. After extensive investigation , which failed to demonstrate a cause, she proceeded to thoracotomy, where a 25-cm length of tubing was found that had perforated the left hemidiaphra gm and had extended into the apex of the left lung. This appeared to have a risen as a complication of a termination of pregnancy performed years previ ously. This represents the first reported case of significant pulmonary tra uma arising as a complication of a termination of pregnancy.