Catamenial Hemoptysis

• Published in: Chest Vol. 111; no. 5; pp. 1447 - 1450
• Main Authors: Cassina, Paolo Claudio, Weder, Walter, Hauser, Markus, Kacl, Georg, Imthurn, Bruno, Schröder, Sören
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago Elsevier Inc 01.05.1997; American College of Chest Physicians
• Subjects: endometriosis; hemoptysis; lung; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); video-assisted thoracoscopy; lung; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); endometriosis; hemoptysis; video-assisted thoracoscopy
• ISSN: 0012-3692; 1931-3543
• DOI: 10.1378/chest.111.5.1447

Thoracic endometriosis is a rare disorder. We report a case of a 26-year-old woman with a 4-year history of catamenial hemoptysis due to thoracic endometriosis which was diagnosed by MRI and treated successfully by means of video-assisted thoracoscopic wedge-resection of the solitary pulmonary lesion. Medical therapy with hormones was not necessary. There is no evidence of recurrence 10 months after the operation. This case demonstrates that MRI of the chest may be considered for the diagnostic work-up of patients with catamenial hemoptysis. It also shows that wedge-resection of pulmonary endometriosis foci by means of video-assisted thoracoscopy—an approach that has not been described in the literature thus far—is an effective therapy in localized peripheral pulmonary parenchymal endometriosis.