title: An unusual case of a mediastinal mass in a cadaver.
abstract: Since 1975, only approximately 60 saphenous vein graft aneurysms have been reported in the medical literature. We now report this unusual finding in a male cadaver who had undergone a recent coronary artery bypass grafting procedure. Although aneurysm formation is an unusual complication of saphenous vein graft surgery, the diagnosis must be suspected particularly in the face of a mediastinal mass on chest radiography in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting. Needle biopsy in these cases may prove lethal. We believe this to be the first description of this complication in a cadaver.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama, USA. rstubbs@uab.edu
authors.forename: R Shane
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Tubbs
authors.forename: E George
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Salter
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sheetz
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zehren
authors.forename: W Jerry
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Oakes
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000783:Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002102:Cadaver; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation