title: Video-assisted thoracic surgery for primary myelolipoma of the posterior mediastinum.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Myelolipoma is an uncommon tumor comprising adipose tissue and normal hematopoietic cells and mainly occurs in the adrenal cortex. Mediastinal myelolipoma is very rare; we report a case of posterior mediastinal myelolipoma that required surgical resection.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 56-year-old male was diagnosed with a posterior mediastinal tumor by computed tomography. The tumor was originally noted in 2005, and during follow-up in March 2014, it was found to have increased in size. During consultation at our hospital, on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we considered the possibility that the tumor was malignant. Consequently, we resected the tumor by video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). The histopathological findings revealed that the tumor had undergone intrathoracic extramedullary hematopoiesis. However, after considering the patient's background and histopathological findings, we diagnosed the tumor as a thoracic extra-adrenal myelolipoma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pathological analysis was instrumental in clarifying the diagnosis. We recommend surgery as a treatment option for posterior mediastinal tumors.
authors.affiliation: Division of Chest Surgery, Department of Surgery, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan. himuro0824@med.showa-u.ac.jp.|Division of Chest Surgery, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 142-8666, Japan. himuro0824@med.showa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Himuro
authors.affiliation: Division of Chest Surgery, Department of Surgery, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan. nrc549600@yahoo.co.jp.
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Minakata
authors.affiliation: Division of Chest Surgery, Department of Surgery, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan. y_oshima@med.showa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oshima
authors.affiliation: Division of Chest Surgery, Department of Surgery, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan. y.tomita@med.showa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.affiliation: Division of Chest Surgery, Department of Surgery, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan. dkataoka@med.showa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kataoka
authors.affiliation: Division of Chest Surgery, Department of Surgery, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Shigeru@med.showa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Division of Chest Surgery, Department of Surgery, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan. kadokura@med.showa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Mitsutaka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kadokura
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018209:Myelolipoma / Q000601:surgery*; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted