Unilateral Hyperlucent Lung Syndrome (Swyer-James-Macleod Syndrome) Managed by Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery

We present a case of a 51-year-old woman whose lung volume reduction surgery for left-sided Swyer-James-MacLeod syndrome by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was converted to total pneumonectomy as a result of fragility of the diseased left lung. The patient was discharged on room air in a significantly improved condition. Only a few cases of this rare disease have been reported where an older patient underwent pneumonectomy. When video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery bullectomy is not a viable option, total pneumonectomy can be safely performed and can lead to significant improvement in symptoms and supplemental oxygen requirement even in older patients.