An Unusual Presentation of a Posterior Mediastinal Schwannoma Associated with Traumatic Hemothorax

Detection of incidental schwannoma by traumatic hemothorax

A case of hemothorax caused by traumatic rupture of schwannoma is rarely reported. We present a case of thorax injury of an 18-year-old woman who had fallen from a high place with a Glasgow Coma Score 13. Chest X-ray showed a left-sided massive pleural effusion. Chest tomography revealed a 105×80 mm formation in the left lung basal region. The patient underwent an emergency thoracotomy after 2000 cc blood drainage with intercostal tube placement. Tumor's pathologic diagnosis was schwannoma (neurilemmoma). In this case study, we would like to present a traumatic hemothorax for the previously unknown mediastinal mass with the relevant literature.

Intrathoracic Giant Mass with Anomalous Vascular Origin in an Asymptomatic Patient: A Case Report

Diagnostic and surgical difficulties were presented in case of a giant mass, found incidentally, in a 65-year-old healthy and asymptomatic man. The patient underwent different diagnostic procedures. Surgery was the treatment of choice. A combination of both open technique and videothoracoscopy to reduce the risk of seeding, pending a certain diagnosis, was resolutive. The postoperative period and recovery time were uneventful. The patient was discharged on the 5th postoperative day. The histological diagnosis was benign schwannoma. There are different aspects to think about, based also on the experience of each center. According to our experience, this is a rare situation; the combined surgical techniques to control the vascular risk and tissue infiltration of the mass seemed to us the approach of choice.

Incidental ancient schwannoma of the posterior mediastinum in a young male: a rare scenario

Ancient schwannoma is a distinctive type of schwannoma occurring mostly in the retroperitoneum. The presentation in the posterior mediastinum is rare. The term 'ancient' represents a group of neurogenic tumours showing degenerative changes with marked nuclear atypia. A 26-year-old man was incidentally detected to have an upper mediastinal mass lesion in the chest X-ray. MRI chest revealed a mixed signal intensity lesion in the left side upper para spinal region of the posterior mediastinum. The patient underwent left posterior thoracotomy and excision of the mass was done. Postoperative period was uneventful. The histopathological feature was typical of Ancient schwannoma. The patient is on regular follow-up and disease free until.

Rare Presentation of a Posterior Mediastinal Cystic Schwannoma as a Large Pleural Effusion

A 46-year-old man presented with shortness of breath and recurrent, left-sided pleural effusions. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest showed a large, left-sided pleural effusion with a mass in the posterior mediastinum. A pleural tap showed lymphocytic exudate. The biopsy of the mass was inconclusive. A left posterolateral thoracotomy was performed, which showed a large posterior mediastinal mass adherent to the left lung. The mass was completely excised and the histopathology proved it to be giant predominantly cystic schwannoma. The pleural effusion resolved after tumor resection.