A very rare fatal complication: bilateral reexpansion pulmonary edema after treatment of single side total pneumothothorax.

Reexpansion pulmonary edema is a rare but fatal clinical condition that develops during the treatment of pneumothorax, pleural effusion and collapsed lung after atelectasis. A 31-year-old male patient was referred to our clinic with the complaint of stinging back pain that started 3 days ago and dyspnea developed during the last 24 hours. Physical examination and radiologic examinations revealed total pneumothorax in the right hemithorax. After tube thoracostomy, his general condition deteriorated and bilateral reexpension edema developed in the lungs. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit and was discharged on the 5th day after medical treatment. Our case is the first case of bilateral reexpansion pulmonary edema seen after unilateral spontaneous pneumothorax when literature review is performed. In order to emphasize the importance of rapid diagnosis and treatment, it is presented in the light of the literature.