Intermittent swelling in the chest; a case of spontaneous intermittent lung herniation.

Herniation of the lung is uncommon and occurs due to protrusion of the lung beyond the confines of the thoracic cavity through an abnormal opening in the chest wall. Any condition associated with raised intrathoracic pressure or that which weakens the thoracic wall may result in lung herniation. We present a case of spontaneous lung herniation which was managed successfully by minimally invasive thoracic surgery.