Resection of an upper mediastinal hemangioma — Report of a case

Abstract

A 57-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a left upper mediastinal tumor detected by chest CT during follow-up after colorectal cancer surgery. Chest radiograph findings showed a 20-mm-diameter, smooth-surfaced tumor with a clear border in the mediastinum adjoining the aortic arch; MRI findings showed iso intensity on T1WI, a homogeneous high signal intensity on T2WI, and homogeneous enhancing effect with a contrast agent. Under the suspicion of non-invasive thymoma, the patient underwent surgery. The tumor showed no continuity with the thymus. It was smooth-surfaced, clear bordered, and adjoining the aortic arch. It was a blood-component-rich, dark-brown nodular lesion covered with a fibrous cap. Pathologically, various sized blood vessels multiplied markedly. As the insides of vessels were anti-CD34 antibody-positive endothelial cells, the tumor was diagnosed as a capillary hemangioma. In this study, we report an extremely rare case of the resection of a hemangioma that developed in the upper mediastinum.