Platypnea after Pneumonectomy

Abstract

PLATYPNEA (dyspnea produced by assumption of an erect position and relieved by a recumbent one1) as a post-pneumonectomy complication has rarely been observed in the past.2 In the patient described below, severe platypnea and orthostatic cyanosis developed after pneumonectomy and were cured by operation.Case ReportA 47-year-old man, two months after resection of the right lung because of lung cancer, was readmitted to the hospital complaining of severe respiratory distress and cyanosis beginning in the sitting posture and exaggerated in the standing position. Supine posture relieved these symptoms. Physical examination confirmed the history. The left lung was clear. . . .