RIB LESIONS ON BONE-SCAN AFTER THORACOTOMY

Hot spots on the ribs were observed on the bone scan of a patient who underwent thoracotomy for metastatic pulmonary disease 12 days earlier. Although retraction during surgical intervention has been mentioned as an uncommon cause of increased accumulation of bone tracers, to the authors' knowledge this is the first case in which this phenomenon is documented. A history of recent thoracic surgery as well as the location of the hot spots at the operative site and close to each other may serve as clues to this interpretation. Awareness of this cause of hot spots may avoid other unnecessary diagnostic procedures.