title: [Mediastinal schwannoma resected through the 10th intercostal space via a posterolateral thoracotomy].
abstract: A 64-year-old woman with a mediastinal tumor incidentally found on computed tomography( CT) was referred to our hospital. CT and magnetic resonance imaging( MRI) showed the tumor had a clear border and was located on the right side of the 12th thoracic vertebra, spanning the thoracic and abdominal cavities. She was suspected of having a benign neurogenic tumor of the mediastinum. She underwent tumor resection through the tenth intercostal space via a posterolateral thoracotomy. We easily resected the tumor using this approach. Pathological examination revealed a benign schwannoma of the mediastinum. Although this approach is rarely chosen by thoracic surgery, it is sometimes useful for the resection of mediastinal tumors near the diaphragm.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Chigasaki Municipal Hospital, Chigasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Mitsuaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawashima
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000601:surgery*; D013908:Thoracotomy / Q000379:methods*