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. 1984 Mar;199(3):372–374. doi: 10.1097/00000658-198403000-00021

Bilateral pneumothoraces secondary to latrogenic buffalo chest. An unusual complication of median sternotomy and subclavian vein catheterization.

G R Schorlemmer, R K Khouri, G F Murray, G Johnson Jr
PMCID: PMC1353408  PMID: 6703799

Abstract

Pneumothorax following subclavian venipuncture is a well-known risk. Less well recognized is the potential for life-threatening bilateral pneumothoraces occurring at the time of subclavian vein catheterization in patients who have previously undergone median sternotomy. Inadvertent bilateral pleural entry at the time of sternotomy may result in a common pleural space which subsequently places the patient in special jeopardy when the complication of pneumothorax occurs. This report documents the successful management of this important sequence of complications associated with now widely applied therapeutic interventions.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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