Yonago Acta medica 2007;50:41–44
Thoracoscopic Resection of an Anterior Mediastinal Bronchogenic Cyst
Shinji Fujioka, Tomohiro Haruki, Yoshin Adachi, Ken Miwa, Yuji Taniguchi, Hiroshige Nakamura and Hisao Ito*
Division of Thoracic Surgery, Clinical Department of Surgery, Tottori University Hospital, Yonago 683-8504 and *Division of Organ Pathology, Department of Microbiology and Pahology, School of Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago 683-8503 Japan
We report a very rare case of anterior mediastinal bronchogenic cyst, successfully resected by thoracoscopic surgery. A 78-year-old female was noted as having an abnormal shadow on her chest X-ray during a routine medical checkup. Chest CT revealed a cystic tumor in the anterior mediastinum. A thymic cyst was suspected after a detailed examination and thoracoscopic surgery was performed. A cystic tumor containing yellowish-white mucus measuring 46 × 33 × 19 mm in size was successfully removed. Calcification was also observed in the cyst wall. Pathologically, the tumor was characterized by a ciliated columnar epithelial lining, and was subsequently diagnosed as a bronchogenic cyst. Although they may be rare, bronchogenic cysts should also be considered in the evaluation of cystic tumors in the anterior mediastinum.
Key words: anterior mediastinum; bronchogenic cyst; thoracoscopic resection
