An Unusual Case of Hemoptysis

The patient is a 63-year-old with a history of histoplasmosis who has undergone two prior thoracotomies for diag-nostic wedge resection revealing granulomatous lesions. She presented with hemoptysis and underwent two embo-lization procedures providing temporary control of her hemoptysis. Radiologic examinations revealed a large cavitary partially calcified mass in the right lower lobe. Due to high risk of recurrent bleeding she underwent right lower lobectomy which ultimately revealed an inflamma-tory, cavitary mass surrounding surgical felt. The material had been placed to buttress a parenchymal suture line and had eroded into the pulmonary parenchyma and hilar vasculature resulting in hemoptysis. Retained surgical material is a rare cause of hemoptysis. We present a case of massive hemoptysis due to retained surgical material resembling a cavitary lesion.