2016 Volume 38 Issue 5 Pages 390-394
Background. Among pulmonary hamartomas, the parenchymal type is common, whereas the endobronchial type is rare. We report a case of an endobronchial hamartoma (EH) of the left main bronchus, which was diagnosed as the cause of prolonged asthma-like symptoms and was removed by flexible bronchoscopy with electrosurgical snaring. Case. The patient was a man in his 70s who had dyspnea for 20 years and who had previously been treated for bronchial asthma. He consulted another physician and received a medical examination. Chest CT revealed a round tumor with partial calcification in the left main bronchus. He visited our hospital because the tumor slightly progressed after 2 years of observation. Chest CT on admission revealed an obstructive tumor in the left main bronchus. On bronchoscopy, this bronchus was completely obstructed by the tumor, and we performed a biopsy. The histological diagnosis was a benign tumor such as EH. Therefore, we opted to resect most of the tumor by endobronchial electrosurgical snaring. The symptoms resolved, and the patient was discharged from our hospital the day after the surgery. After 3 years of observation, the patency of the left main bronchus was still preserved, and there was no progression of the residual EH. Conclusion. We report a case of successfully treated EH that had caused 20 years of dyspnea using flexible bronchoscopy with electrosurgical snaring.
