A case of Pulmonary dilofilariasis diagnosed after thoracoscopic partial resection of the lung

Abstract

The patient was an 80-year-old woman who underwent surgery for right breast cancer at the age of 67 in 1987. In August 2000, chest X-ray showed a mass shadow in the right inferior lung field. In addition, chest CT revealed a non-calcified tumor with a flat margin measuring 1 cm in diameter located just below the right S¹⁰ pleura. In November 2000, thoracoscopic partial resection of the lung was performed to diagnose and treat the tumor. Although malignant cells were not detected by intraoperative histological examination, a diagnosis of pulmonary dilofilariasis was established after the histological examination of tissue specimens. Since the preoperative diagnosis of pulmonary dilofilariasis is difficult to establish, it is frequently detected by open lung biopsy. Therefore, since it is important to differentiate this lesion from other nodular lesions in the peripheral lung field, less invasive thoracoscopic lung biopsy is useful for establishing the definitive diagnosis of pulmonary dilofilariasis.