Ipsilateral re-expansion pulmonary edema in a neurosurgical patient--a case report.

We report a case of a 42-year-old female with right parietal glioma, scheduled for elective craniotomy and tumor excision. The patient developed pneumothorax in the postoperative period. An incidence of unilateral pulmonary edema occurring as a result of rapid re-expansion of collapsed lungs is described. This type of pulmonary edema may delay postoperative recovery and have a catastrophic course especially in neurosurgical patients.