title: Unilateral Suppression of Brown Fat on FDG PET/CT in Horner Syndrome.
abstract: A 29-year-old woman underwent resection of a left anterior mediastinal thymoma and pleurectomy. Postsurgical FDG PET/CT scan demonstrated FDG avidity in the right neck and upper thoracic fat but relatively absent FDG-avid fat in the left neck and upper thorax. Bilateral FDG-avid fat was also apparent in the lower chest and upper abdomen. After surgery, the patient demonstrated Horner syndrome, with left-sided ptosis, miosis, and facial anhidrosis. It is hypothesized that left-sided sympathetic nerves were compromised during surgery, leading to Horner syndrome and denervation of ipsilateral brown fat. The unilateral FDG avidity should not be mistaken for malignancy.
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of *Radiology and †Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Gary A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Ulaner
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Samstein
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cahlon
authors.forename: Wolfgang A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rimner
mesh_terms: D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006732:Horner Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D000072078:Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18