Paraparesis induced by inflammatory contents of a pneumonectomy cavity. Case report.

The authors report on a patient who developed acute-onset paraparesis after underoing a thoracotomy 40 years earlier for a carcinoid adenoma. No infectious or neoplastic origin could be found to explain the patient's current clinical course and radiographic findings. The postoperative events in this case are discussed, as well as the literature regarding postthoracotomy complications.