Catamenial pneumothorax: report of a case and review of the Japanese and non-Japanese literature.

A case of catamenial pneumothorax (CPT) was presented. The patient is a 34-year-old Japanese woman who had two histories of right pneumothorax occurring simultaneously with the menstruation. A thoracotomy, several blue cysts and tiny perforations were noted in the diaphragm. Partial excision of the lesion gave a favorable result. Pathological examination of the excised diaphragm revealed an endometriosis. Fisterography of the perforations at thoracotomy showed the pathway between thoracic and abdominal space. But the contrast medium didn't spread widely into the abdomen, but remained localized at the right paracolonic space, in accord with the right side predominancy of the endometriosis of the diaphragm which causes the CPT. The clinical and pathological features in Japanese cases including our own case are compared with those in English literature.