Abstract
A 68-year-old female visited our hospital because of an abnormal shadow in her left lower lung field on chest X-ray. An isolated tumor of 10×7.5 cm in size was diagnosed as mesothelioma and was resected. The tumor was diagnosed as malignant mesothelioma by pathology. Six times operation in total (every 2-3 years) made possible her long survival for 12 years. To our regret, the patient died on the 31st postoperative day after the last operation because of complications. Malignant mesothelioma has the tendency to stay in the thoracic cavity with few distant metastasis. Extrapleural pneumonectomy is a surgical procedure facilitating complete resection and cure, in many cases, although tumor relapse is often seen and the burden on the patient is large. So partial resection of the pleura to maintain the quality of life of the patient may be the best option.
