Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Decortication of Left Lung Empyema in a Patient With Kartagener's Syndrome

Kartagener's syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by the situs inversus, bronchiectasis, and chronic sinusitis. It is found in about half of the individuals with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a disorder of dynein arms in the cilia which renders the mucociliary apparatus inefficient. One of the manifestations of this disorder is the inability to clear secretions from the respiratory pathway leading to recurrent infections and their complications. We present a case of a 16-year-old female with the classical triad of Kartagener's syndrome who developed left-sided empyema thoracis and needed video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication for her condition.