The Journal of the Japanese Association for Chest Surgery
Online ISSN : 1881-4158
Print ISSN : 0919-0945
ISSN-L : 0919-0945
A resected case of chronic expanding hematoma occupying left hemithorax with preservation of left lung
Ken MiwaYuki OhshimaYasuaki KubouchiKunio ArakiYuji TaniguchiHiroshige Nakamura
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2017 Volume 31 Issue 6 Pages 771-777

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Abstract

A 49-year-old man with no history of tuberculosis or chest surgery showed an abnormal shadow on a chest radiograph at a medical checkup every year from 2011. In 2015, dyspnea increased gradually, and he visited another hospital. Chest CT revealed a huge mass of 26×16 cm in the left thoracic cavity and a compressed left lung. He was then referred to our hospital. A mosaic of various signal intensities was noted inside the mass as well as a low-signal band at its periphery as specific features of a chronic expanding hematoma on T2-weighted MR images. Under a clinical diagnosis of chronic expanding hematoma of the left thorax, we performed an operation via a median sternotomy following thoracotomy. The mass with a tough capsule adhered strongly to the chest wall, left lung, and diaphragm. Finally, we could rescue the left lung and remove the mass by dissecting the mass completely from the surrounding tissues. The operative time was 420 minutes, and blood loss was 103 mL. It is noteworthy that we selected an appropriate approach, on considering the course of the mass progression and respiratory function improvement by preservation of the left lung.

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© 2017 The Japanese Association for Chest Surgery
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