Nitric oxide usage after posttraumatic pneumonectomy

Pneumonectomy is rarely required in the surgical management of thoracic traumatic injuries with high mortality rates. Right heart failure due to elevated pulmonary artery pressure and the adult respiratory distress syndrome have been leading causes of mortality reported after posttraumatic pneumonectomy. The beneficial effect of inhaled nitric oxide has been shown in pulmonary hypertension and in adult respiratory distress syndrome. We report the use of inhaled nitric oxide in the perioperative management of a patient undergoing emergent pneumonectomy.