• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.768-771
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• 1999

A 45 year old man was admitted for further examination of an abnormal shadow of the right posterior mediastinum. The patient suffered from dysesthesia in the right thoracic wall of dermatome T7. CT scan and MRI revealed that two separate tumors had developed in the right paravertebral area linked to the vertebral canal via an intervertebral foramina. One-stage removal of the tumors were performed safely through the right posterolateral thoracotomy following the resection of the rib head and vertebral pedicle. The tumors were confirmed as histologically neurilemomas. The postoperative course was uneventful.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.70 no.2
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• pp.165-169
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• 2011

Pheochromocytomas are neuroendocrine tumors of chromaffin cell that originate in the paraganglia of the adrenal medulla. Approximately 10% of pheochromocytomas are found in the extra-adrenal paraganglia and are called paragangliomas. However, cases of middle mediastinal paragangliomas are very rare. In this case, the patient presented with a voice change and a headache. A middle mediastinal soft tissue mass with marked enhancement was detected on computed tomography of the chest. The 24-hour urine catecholamine level was markedly elevated. The middle mediastinal mass was biopsied via mediastinoscopy and the resulting immunohistochemical staining was compatible with a diagnosis of middle mediastinal paraganglioma. The mass was resected surgically and the symptoms were relieved.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.426-429
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• 2008

Neurogenic tumors are common in posterior mediastinal tumors and neurilemmoma represents approximately 40% of neurogenic tumors arising in the mediastinum. It is usually asymptomatic, and is generally diagnosed incidentally. In some cases, they presented with symptoms of nerve or airway compression. However, a solitary neurilemmoma, particularly not associated with von Recklinghausen disease, with spontaneous hemothorax is quite rare. We report a case of spontaneous massive hemothorax associated with a solitary neurilemmoma.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.92-95
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• 2011

The anterior mediastinal tracheotomy(AMT) facilitates resection of stomal recurrence after total laryngectomy and tumors involving the cervicothoracic trachea and esophagus. An 81-year-old-man came to our clinic due to the progressive dyspnea during three months. He received the total laryngectomy five years ago. We diagnosed as Sisson type I stomal recurrence and then performed the wide excision, both selective neck dissection, sternal manubrium resection and AMT. Before surgery, we planned the pectoralis major myocutaneous flap. Unluckily we could not fulfill this procedure because of patient's medical status during anesthesia. The tracheocutaneous fistula was observed in the second postoperative day. He expired due to the huge bleeding from the wound. When AMT is performed, exact manipulation of major vessels and adequate flap are mandatory these elevate the feasibility of AMT.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.361-365
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• 1992

Lymphangiomas are rare benign shlow-growing tumors composed of lymphatic channels. They are generally classified according to the size of their lymph channels as simple, cavernous, and cystic lymphangioma or cystic hygroma. The simple and cavernous types usually occur in the head, neck or axillae. About 75 percent of cystic lymphangioma occur in the neck and 20 percent in the axillae, the remaining 5 percent occur in the mediastinum, omentum, pelvis, groin, spleen, bone, and skin, etc. Purely mediastinal cystic lymphangiomas are very uncommon. We report a case of purely mediastinal cystic lymphangioma confirmed pathologically and treated by operation, along with a review of the literature.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.1225-1232
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• 1990

From March 1986 to June 1990, the percutaneous Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy[FNAB] of 102 thoracic lesions were performed with Westcott needle [slotted 20G or 22G thin needle], for the purpose of identifying and diagnosing thoracic lesions. There were 94 lung lesions [67 malignant tumors, 27 benign lesions] and 8 mediastinal and chest wall lesions. The results of FNAB were compared with sputum cytology and bronchoscopic examinations. The sputum cytologic examinations were performed in 54 cases of malignant lung tumor and the malignant cell was found at the 18 cases [33%]. We bronchoscopic examinations were performed in 24 cases and the malignant cell was found at the 12 cases [55%]. The positive diagnostic rate of malignancy was 100% by FNAB. Among them, 55 cases [82%] were diagnosed by cytologic examinations and 43 cases[64%] by both. The specific diagnoses for benign lung lesions in 15 cases[55%] and for mediastinal and chest well lesions in 5 cases[62%]. The 7 patients[6.9%] developed the pneumothorax and 5 of them required the treatment. Therefore, the FNAB of thoracic lesions may be a preferred diagnostic method because of its safety, simplicity and accuracy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.225-227
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• 2015

Thoracic duct cysts in the upper portion of the diaphragm are mostly found in the neck and are rarely found in the mediastinum. Thoracic duct cysts should be differentiated from other mediastinal tumors or cysts, and surgical treatment is required to avoid the development of chylothorax if the cyst ruptures. Herein, we report the case of a patient with a thoracic cyst located just above the diaphragm that was treated with surgical resection.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.467-472
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• 1982

Fifty six consecutive cases of mediastinoscopy are analysed. The procedure was performed without any complication and mortality. It is concluded that the mediastinoscopy is a safe procedure and causes little disturbance to the patient. The value of mediastinoscopy as a diagnostic procedure for mediastinal and pulmonary hilar masses is shown. In my series, mediastinoscopy was performed in 17 cases, which could not be diagnosed by other means, for purpose of diagnostic procedure. A histologic diagnosis was obtained in 11 of the 17 patients [64.7%]. The findings are 6 cases of tuberculosis, 2 cases of metastatic carcinoma, 1 case of primary carcinoma, and one case of noncaseating granuloma. The histologic diagnosis of carcinoma in patients believed to have non-resectable tumors could be obtained in 4 of the 7 cases [57.1%]. Three cases out of 32 patients with presumably resectable bronchial carcinoma were found to have mediastinal lymph node metastases. Two patients of 29 cases refused to be operated on. The remaining 27 cases had thoracotomy and resection was undertaken in all but 9 cases [33.3%].

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.1111-1116
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• 1988

Neurofibromatosis is very rare syndrome characterized by abnormal cutaneous pigmentation and numerous skin tumors was described by Smith in 1849, which is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Von Recklinghausen reported 2 cases of multiple skin and subcutaneous tumors in 1982. Malignant peripheral nerve tumors, although generally rare, are one of the most characteristic malignant tumors associated with Neurofibromatosis. We have experienced 3 cases of malignant Schwannoma in neurofibroma patients from 1982 to 1988 for 6 years at Thoracic and Cardiovascular surgery department, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. l. One is 62 years old female who was taken total hysterectomy followed by irradiation treatment due to Uterine Carcinoma 21 years ago. She had a large bulging mass on left anterior chest wall and was taken enbloc resection of tumor including rib confirmed malignant Schwannoma. 2. Another is 18 years old female who had large bulging mass on right chest wall and pleural effusion in right thoracic cavity. Thoracentesis revealed a large amount of lymphocytes misdiagnosed of Tbc, pleurisy with Neurofibromatosis. We performed tissue biopsy on bulging mass and the specimen was confirmed malignant Schwannoma 2 months after first diagnosis of Tbc. pleurisy. She was not accessible to radical resection because of far advanced malignant Schwannoma at that time. 3. Third case is 28 years old male who was taken enbloc resection of tumor including rib due to Neurofibroma with Neurofibromatosis at M. hospital 6 months ago. But he had rapid growing mass at operation site again and taken tissue biopsy confirmed of malignant Schwannoma. He was not accessible to enbloc resection due to malignant Schwannoma extending to mediastinal structures.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.780-785
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• 1997

Mediastinal tumor had been fascinated by its location on heart, great vessels, esophagus, and nervous tissue, its convenience of surgical treatment and superiority of its operative result. Between January 1989 and June 1995, eighty-seven patients with mediastinal tumor which were treated surgically in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Asan Medical Center, School of Medicine, University of Ulsan. To provide the appropriate surgical management of mediastinal tumor, the demographic data, diagnostic evaluation, clinical presentation, location, size, operative finding and histopathologic distribution were reviewed and we analyzed relativity between invasiveness in chest computed tomographic finding or invasiveness on operative finding and histopathologic invasiveness. The anterosuperior mediastinum was the most commonly involved site of a mediastinal tumor(57%), followed by the posterior mediastinum(35%) and middle mediastinum(8%). The most frequently encountered tumors were thymic neoplasia(31%), followed by primary cyst(22%), neurogenic tumor(22%) and teratoma(10%) in decreasing order of frequency. Histopathologically invasive tumors were present in 17 patients(20%) and its site included anterosuperior mediastinum(16%) and posterior mediastinum(4%). All patients in this study underwent chest CT. In chest CT's finding, 15 patients(17%) showed invasiveness. A total excision of the tumor was performed 80 patients(92%), subtotal excision 6 patients(7%) and biopsy only 1 patient(2%). In operative finding, 14 patients(16%) were suspected invasiveness. The mean size of the tumor was 6.0$\pm$ 3.2cm. In anterosuperior mediastinum, the mean size was 6.2$\pm$3.1cm, in middle mediastinum, it was 3.9$\pm$1.1cm, in posterior mediastinum, it was 5.8$\pm$2.6cm. In malignant tumors, the mean size was 7.3$\pm$4.6cm, in benign tumor, it was 5.5$\pm$2.6cm(P<0.05). Relativity between histopathological invasiveness(17 patients) and invasiveness in chest CT's finding(15 patients) included sensitivity 35%, specificity 87% and predictability 35%, relativity between histopathological invasiveness(17 patients) and invasiveness on operative finding included sensitivity 52%, specificity 93% and predictability 64%. In conclusion, since it was proved that the compatibility of preoperative chest CT findings or operative findings and histopathological invasiveness is quite low, it is considered that wide excision of the mediastinal tumor except cystic lesion including adjacent tissues would yield better postoperative results.