title: Surgically removed thoracolithiasis: report of two cases.
abstract: Thoracolithiasis is a rare condition with only 12 cases of surgically removed nodules reported in the literature. We report 2 additional cases. Case 1: A 19-year-old male admitted with an abnormal shadow on a chest X-ray. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a nodule in the right lower lung lobe. The material extirpated by thoracoscopy was milky white, glossy, and 1.6 cm in diameter. Histopathologically, it consisted of fatty necrotic tissue covered with hyalinized fibrous tissue. Case 2: A 78-year-old female, with a past history of breast cancer, admitted with an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray. CT revealed a nodule in the left lung S(1+2) segment, of which transbronchial biopsy findings indicated primary lung adenocarcinoma. Exploratory thoracoscopy incidentally revealed some pearly material, 0.4 cm in diameter, in the thoracic cavity. They were extirpated during left upper lobectomy for lung cancer; all of them demonstrated concentric hyalinized fibrous tissue. Thoracic surgeons should consider this condition in the differential diagnosis of a peripheral pulmonary nodule.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Respiratory Surgery, Osaka Prefectural Medical Center for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases, Habikino, Japan.
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: Katsuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Katsura
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohse
authors.forename: Teruaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagano
authors.forename: Kunimitsu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawahara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002137:Calculi / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020347:Lithiasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000175:diagnosis; D013896:Thoracic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed