title: Respiratory failure caused by giant thymolipoma.
abstract: The authors present the case of a 31-year-old woman with a massive anterior mediastinal tumor who presented with respiratory failure. A thoracic computed tomographic scan suggested a mediastinal lipomatous mass, and an operation was performed. Resection of the tumor resulted in immediate improvement in the patient's pulmonary status, and the histopathologic examination revealed thymolipoma. Because thymolipoma can attain enormous dimensions and compress adjacent structures, it should be immediately resected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ceran
authors.forename: Baykal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tulek
authors.forename: Guven
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sunam
authors.forename: Mecit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suerdem
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008067:Lipoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D009929:Organ Size; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed