Intraoperative pneumothorax identified with transthoracic ultrasound.

P NEUMOTHORAX is an uncommon but potentially serious occurrence during anesthesia. Initial clinical signs may be subtle, but progression to a tension pneumothorax can result in significant cardiorespiratory instability. Because therapy for pneumothorax may require invasive chest tube placement, definitive diagnosis by chest radiography is necessary. However, intraoperative chest radiograph may be inconvenient and difficult, causing the diagnosis to be delayed until completion of operation. We describe two cases in which intraoperative transthoracic ultrasound rapidly established a diagnosis of pneumothorax and facilitated timely utilization of resources for definitive treatment.