Placental site trophoblastic tumour – a rare cause of recurrent spontaneous pneumothoraces and conjunctival metastasis

Abstract

Spontaneously occurring primary pneumothorax in the young is uncommon but well documented as a complication of primary or secondary lung malignancy. We report the case of a 24-year-old female patient with placental site trophoblastic tumour presenting as recurrent pneumothorax, despite initial surgery and chemotherapy. Later, despite further chemotherapy, she developed conjunctival metastasis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a placental site trophoblastic tumour metastasising to the conjunctiva to be reported in the literature. Clinicians should keep in mind the possibility of pneumothorax due to lung metastasis when no obvious primary lung disorder is apparent.