Percutaneous Intercostal Cryoneurolysis in the Management of Symptomatic Fibrothorax.

Fibrothorax is characterized by fibrosis of the visceral pleura and may develop as a sequela of a hemothorax, empyema, tuberculosis, collagen vascular disease, drug reaction, or pleural injury (1). Patients often experience dyspnea and chest wall pain related to pleural inflammation. Intercostal nerves innervate the thoracic wall and parietal pleura, and cryoneurolysis of these nerves has been found to be safe and effective in relieving pain in the chest wall and upper abdomen (2). Although intercostal cryoneurolysis has demonstrated effectiveness in treating chest wall pain of various etiologies, its utility in fibrothorax is unexplored.