A typical thymic carcinoid tumour within a thymolipoma: report of a case and review of combined tumours of the thymus.
Thymolipomas are rare tumours located in the anterior mediastinum. Sometimes these tumours may be combined with thymomas or lymphomas. We present a unique case of a thymic carcinoid arising within a thymolipoma. A 68-year-old patient presented with chronic chest and neck pain, which was initially thought to be caused by coronary artery disease. A chest x-ray, exercise tolerance test and coronary angiography were unremarkable. The following CT scan of the neck and chest showed a small tumour in the anterior mediastinum. A robotic-assisted thymectomy was performed and histological examination revealed a neuroendocrine tumour of the thymus within a thymolipoma. The patient was discharged 3 days after surgery in good general condition.
Department of Cardiac Surgery, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. Christina.M.Steger@i-med.ac.at
Christina
C
Steger
Hans-Joerg
HJ
Steiner
Katharina
K
Moser
Heinrich
H
Fiechtl
Patrizia
P
Moser
Thomas
T
Schmid
Ralf Joachim
RJ
Rieker
D000368:Aged; D002276:Carcinoid Tumor / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008067:Lipoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D018193:Neoplasms, Complex and Mixed / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*