Introduction:

Spontaneous lung herniation (SLH) refers to a protrusion of the lung into an irregular opening through the parietal pleura occurring at the level of the chest wall, diaphragm, or mediastinum. This is a rare entity, and only about 300 cases have been reported worldwide. The following is the first case of SLH reported in Ecuador.

Case presentation:

This is a 59-year-old male patient with no history of trauma or chronic respiratory diseases. He attended the emergency department due to a 3-day history of hemoptysis, moderate pain in the right hemithorax, edema, submammary hematoma, and a chest wall hernia that was evident during respiratory movements and the Valsalva maneuver. A non-contrast chest CT scan showed free fluid in the right pleural cavity, alveolar patchy infiltrate, protrusion of the medial segment of the middle lobe, and displaced fractures in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th ribs of the right hemithorax. Pneumonia, pleural effusion, and SLH with right rib fractures were diagnosed. Due to the patient's symptoms, surgical management with right thoracotomy with parasternal incision was decided to reduce the herniated lung parenchyma. Three months after surgery, follow-up imaging scans showed correct disposition of the osteosynthesis material. The patient did not present any discomfort, so follow-up and multidisciplinar^ medical management were continued.

Conclusions:

SLH is a very rare condition. Its diagnosis is mainly clinical, characterized by chest pain, presence of the hernial defect and sometimes a history of cough, as in this patient. The diagnosis is currently very precise, but treatment options are still under debate. However, surgical intervention is unquestionably the safest choice for achieving the best outcomes due to the rapid improvement of symptoms and the prevention of recurrences.

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