A Rare Case of Vanishing Lung Syndrome.

Vanishing lung syndrome (VLS) is a rare radiological syndrome in which the lungs appear to be disappearing on X-ray. It is a chronic, progressive condition usually affecting young male smokers and is characterised by giant emphysematous bullae, which commonly develop in the upper lobes. We describe here a rare case of 60-year-old male patient who had a history of chronic smoking for 30 years. He had been admitted in the hospital multiple times due to spontaneous pneumothorax, type 2 respiratory failure and infective exacerbations. He was earlier diagnosed having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with predominant emphysema on the basis of his history and chest X-ray findings. Eventually, his CT chest revealed the diagnosis of giant bullous disease/vanishing lung syndrome. He had been surviving with his little lung tissue for about 10 years. No such case has been reported in the literature so far. He was attended last on 12th October, 2009 in medical outdoor of Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana by the first three authors. Thereafter, the patient was not traceable.