Spontaneously occurring primary pneumothorax in the young is uncommon but well documented as a complication of primary or secondary lung malignancy. We report the case of a 24-year-old female patient with placental site trophoblastic tumour presenting as recurrent pneumothorax, despite initial surgery and chemotherapy. Later, despite further chemotherapy, she developed conjunctival metastasis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a placental site trophoblastic tumour metastasising to the conjunctiva to be reported in the literature. Clinicians should keep in mind the possibility of pneumothorax due to lung metastasis when no obvious primary lung disorder is apparent.

MRI is the imaging modality of choice when trigeminal nerve pathology is suspected. Most lesions are readily recognizable if appropriate imaging sequences are performed. Routine cranial MRI sequences augmented by a three-dimensional gradient echo sequence such as FISP (fast inflow with steady-state precession) are sufficient to demonstrate most pathological processes involving the trigeminal nerve and nucleus. Intravenous gadolinium-DTPA occasionally provides additional diagnostic information. MRI is particularly useful in planning the management of those conditions where surgical or medical intervention can result in improvement or resolution of symptoms. In this review, examples of a range of pathologies involving the trigeminal nerve and nucleus are presented.