Thymolipoma of the anterior mediastinum: videothoracoscopic removal using a bilateral approach.
Thymolipoma, a rare benign neoplasm of the anterior mediastinum, is often asymptomatic and as a result it can become quite large before it is diagnosed. CT is the most accurate diagnostic technique to identify the adipose tissue, but it often cannot make a differential diagnosis differentiating it from other anterior mediastinal masses; transthoracic biopsy also reveals the presence of fatty tissue, but a definitive diagnosis can only be achieved by means of surgical excision, which is also curative. We describe the case of a young woman who presented with a fatty neoplasm of the anterior mediastinum. The mass was removed using single-stage bilateral sequential videothoracoscopy. The histopathological diagnosis was thymolipoma.
Ferrari
G
G
Division of Thoracic Surgery, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Paci
M
M
Sgarbi
G
G
D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008067:Lipoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed