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The Destroyed Lung Syndrome: Report of a Case After Harrington Rod Instrumentation and Fusion for Idiopathic Scoliosis

Study Design. A case report is described. Objective. To describe the very rare complication of destroyed lung syndrome after scoliosis correction. Summary of Background Data. The destroyed lung syndrome has, to our knowledge, never been associated with scoliosis in the literature. Bronchial kinking and compression by the vertebral column have been described in severe scoliosis cases. Methods. The patient, a 40-year-old woman was operated on in 1976 for a thoracic scoliosis and hypokyphosis using Harrington rod instrumentation and fusion with autologous bone graft. With a follow-up of 26 years, she has developed a very severe functional defect of the right lung, the so-called destroyed lung syndrome. Results. After the index procedure, the patient developed various episodes of pneumonia and abscess formation in the right lung because of kinking and obstruction of the bronchial tree of the right lung. This seemed to be caused by a severe hypokyphosis and by residual scoliosis of the thoracic spine with direct compression of the right bronchus by the vertebral column. Eventually two stents were placed, but this prevented further deterioration only temporarily. Conclusions. After Harrington instrumentation and fusion for thoracic hypokyphotic idiopathic scoliosis, kinking and obstruction of a main bronchus are possible. In this patient, this complication gave rise to recurrent infections of the right lung, eventually progressing to destroyed lung syndrome.