title: Unique presentation of a giant mediastinal tumor as kyphosis: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although posture distortion is a common problem in elderly patients, spinal deformity caused by a thymoma has not been previously reported. Thymomas are slowly growing tumors that predominantly cause respiratory symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report the case of an 83-year-old woman who was admitted with a giant mediastinal mass that had caused progressive spinal distortion and weight loss to our department. The clinical and laboratory investigations that followed revealed one of the largest thymomas ever reported in the medical literature, presenting as a mass lesion placed at the left hemithorax. She underwent complete surgical excision of the tumor via a median sternotomy. Two years after the operation, she showed significant improvement in her posture, no pulmonary discomfort, and a gain of 20 kg; she remains disease free based on radiographic investigations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this case, a chronic asymmetric load on the spine resulted in an abnormal vertebral curvature deformity that presented as kyphosis.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Propedeutic Surgery, University of Athens, Medical School, "Laiko" General Hospital, Athens, Greece. eleftherios.spartalis@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Eleftherios D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Spartalis
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Karatzas
authors.forename: Petros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Konofaos
authors.forename: Grigorios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Karagkiouzis
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kouraklis
authors.forename: Periklis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tomos