Contralateral pulmonary resection with drug-induced thrombocytopenia after previous lobectomy in chest trauma: a case report

Secondary pulmonary resection remains challenging because of the risk of serious complications. A second thoracic surgical procedure in elective settings should prioritize the patient's recovery potential and functional status. In thoracic oncology, clinical outcomes can be acceptable in selected patients. However, when vital signs are unstable due to traumatic lung injury, selection is not the primary consideration and emergency surgery is required. Thrombocytopenia is a condition in which a patient's platelet count is abnormally low, diagnosed by complete blood count. In humans, the normal platelet count generally ranges from 150,000 to 450,000 platelets/μL of blood. In posttraumatic patients, thrombocytopenia is often difficult to manage because its causes are diverse. To our knowledge, survival after secondary contralateral lung resection in a patient with thrombocytopenia who previously underwent lobectomy for lung cancer is extremely rare.