Isolated fracture of clavicle is usually treated with nonoperative conservative treatment. However, surgical treatment, customized for individual patient's need, is increasingly done. With regard to the surgery of the clavicle fracture, pneumothorax is a possible, but rare complication.
We report the case of a 32-year-old healthy female patient who underwent minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) due to a clavicle fracture. To avoid direct exposure of fracture site, the pre-contoured plate was inserted through the lateral incisional port to reach the medial incisional port. There was no problem during the surgery, but the patient complained of dyspnea in the post-anesthesia care unit.
A chest radiograph was taken immediately, and a definitive finding of pneumothorax was revealed.