Successful treatment of a compromised patient with intractable pneumothorax using a semiflexible thoracofiberscope under local anesthesia: A case report

We herein present the case of a 69-year-old male with intractable pneumothorax, which occurred after gastrectomy, who could not tolerate general anesthesia because of a poor cardiopulmonary reserve and renal and hepatic insufficiency. We performed a ligation of perforated bulla using a semiflexible thoracofiberscope under an intercostal nerve block and subcutaneous anesthesia. The postoperative course was uneventful. The chest tube was removed the next day, and he was transferred to the department of medicine on the 2nd postoperative day.