Pulmonary endometriosis: a rare cause of hydropneumothorax

Abstract

Pulmonary involvement in endometriosis is well described in the literature but asymptomatic significant hydropneumothorax is considered an unusual presentation. It classically coincides with a menstrual cycle and can be a cause of recurrent disease. We present a young lady who was found to have an incidental asymptomatic right hydropneumothorax on a pre‐employment health screen. She comes from an endemic area of tuberculosis, thus we pursued several diagnostic tests to rule it out. A diagnosis of catamenial hydropneumothorax was reached through a pleural biopsy. This case highlights the importance of adopting a systematic approach in managing uncommon presentations.

The Cellular Respiration of Endometrial Biopsies from Patients with Various Forms of Endometriosis

“…This pathology is characterized by the appearance of an ectopic focus of endometrial-like tissue outside the epithelial layer of the uterine cavity [1]. Depending on the location, a distinction is made between genital (adenomyosis-growth of the endometrium into the muscular layer of the uterus and endometriotic ovarian cysts) and extragenital (most often, lesions are found on the peritoneal mesothelium, but there are also cases of localization far beyond the abdominal cavity, in particular in the lungs [2,3] and nasolacrimal channel [4,5]).…”