Case reports

Plombage thoracoplasty with balls performed for tuberculosis – still working after 46 years

Plombage thoracoplasty using different synthetic materials was a popular procedure in the management of tuberculosis (TB) in the 1940-50's, being then abandoned. We report an 81-year-old patient who underwent a plombage thoracoplasty with balls at the age of 35; at the moment of examination in our unit, the patient had no chest complaints and no complications related to the surgical procedure was noted. CT scan showed the presence of the plombage material (balls) surrounded by fibrosis and calcifications but without other significant lesions. From our knowledge, this seems to be the first detailed modern imagistic description of a plombage thoracoplasty with uncomplicated very long-time outcome (46 years after surgery).

Keywords: tuberculosis, thoracoplasty, plombage, computed tomography

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