Re-expansion pulmonary edema following pneumothorax or hemothorax is clinically uncommon but occasionally life threatening. Clinical details are given of two patients.Ipsilateral pulmonary edema were developed after chest tube insertion due to spontaneous pneumothorax in case I and after evacuation of postoperative hemothorax in case II. The patients were treated with frequent bronchial toilet.The administration of colloid solution and diuretics was effective. The possible mechanisms underlying the edema are discussed.Both increased time of collapse and suction tended to correlate with reexpansion edema.The present two cases provided evidence for longstanding lung collapse and immediate application of suction.