Presentation
The patient is examined for a large mass in the anterior mediastinum.
Patient Data
A large, heterogeneous, anterior mediastinal mass is appreciated, with associated enhancement after administration of contrast medium.
The tumor mass maintains an adipose cleavage plane with the trachea and encircles the right main bronchus and right brachiocephalic venous trunk.
Another mass occupies the thymic lodge and the adipose plane beneath the right sternocostal joint.
There are metastatic lesions in the pleural cavity and sternocostal joint.
There is also a moderate sized right pleural effusion, some enlarged lymph nodes in the carina area, pericardial effusion and small pleural effusion on the left.
CT examination performed a few weeks after the MRI examination, also confirmed the presence of a large mass in the right anterior mediastinum.
CT examination also confirmed secondary pleural localizations at the sternocostal joint and pleural effusion.
Case Discussion
This voluminous mass was biopsied and found to be a malignant thymoma. The patient has undergone various therapies to try to reduce the mass, unfortunately with poor results; surgical resection is sometimes an option in certain cases.