Fulminant myasthenia gravis manifested after removal of anterior mediastinal tumor.
Myasthenia gravis developed in a 35-year-old man after removal of an encapsulated anterior mediastinal tumor that was preoperatively diagnosed as a teratoma based on a computed tomographic image. Postoperative pathologic diagnosis of the excised tumor was thymoma. The patient was in crisis after the initiation of immunosuppressive treatment. The therapy was changed to immunoadsorbent perfusion therapy because of concurrent severe pneumonia and an extremely high serum concentration of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies. Respiratory support was necessary for 2 months after reoperation.
Departments of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Mie University School of Medicine, Japan.
K
K
Onoda
S
S
Namikawa
M
M
Takao
H
H
Shimpo
S
S
Miura
Y
Y
Narita
S
S
Kuzuhara
I
I
Yada
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D013934:Thymectomy; D013945:Thymoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*