Catamenial pneumothorax – are there benefits of cooperation between the surgeon and the gynaecologist?

Catamenial pneumothorax (CP) is an uncommon disease related to thoracic endometriosis or diaphragmatic perforation. It is defined as an occurrence of spontaneous pneumothorax around the time of menstruation in the population of women of reproductive age with no other lung diseases. Catamenial pneumothorax is often misdiagnosed and classified as a spontaneous pneumothorax, and no in-depth gynaecological diagnostic is performed. Here we present 3 cases of female patients admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery with the aim of surgical treatment of recurrent CP. In all 3 cases, a temporal association between pneumothorax and menstruation was identified. In 2 presented cases the patients were diagnosed with endometriosis and other gynaecological diseases. The previous incidents of CP were treated conservatively, with suction drainage of the pleural cavity or with thoracocentesis, but the treatment did not prevent relapses. In the Department of Thoracic Surgery, each patient was operated on with the use of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, which is considered to be a good therapeutic option. In the case of 2 patients the surgery eliminated the relapses, 1 patient required radical lung decortication. The literature on the subject indicates the potential benefits of hormonal treatment of CP. It is suggested that using such pharmacological treatment may reduce the risk of relapse after surgery.