CASE REPORT: Selective contralateral balloon occlusion for successful opening of a persistently collapsed lung in congenital lobar emphysema

Pulmonary emphysemas are mainly of two types, congenital lobaremphysema (CLE) and pulmonary interstitial emphysema (PIE), which have a different pathophysiology, but both cause severe respiratory distress that may require intensive medical and most of the time surgical therapy, including selective occlusion of the main bronchus of the affected lung as reported in cases of PIE, but not in CLE. We report a case of CLE managed not by treating the affected side but by opening the persistently collapsed lung