Endobronchial lipoma. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance

Removal of an endobronchial lipoma via uniportal thoracoscopic right basal segmentectomy

Background

Endobronchial lipoma is a rare benign tumor. The standard treatment is bronchoscopic intervention or surgical resection. Here, we present a case of endobronchial lipoma treated by right basal segmentectomy via a uniportal thoracoscopic approach.

Case presentation

A 66-year-old female presented with a persistent cough and recurring high-grade fever 4 months in duration. Chest X-ray revealed an abnormal infiltration shadow in the right lower lung field. Chest computed tomography revealed a tumor that occluded the lateral segmental bronchus of the right lower lobe. Surgical resection was planned because we failed to diagnose the tumor via bronchoscopic biopsy. Finally, uniportal, thoracoscopic right basal segmentectomy, which is less invasive than lobectomy and allows preservation of the apical segment of the lower lobe, was successfully performed. The pathological diagnosis was of endobronchial lipoma. The cough and recurrent pneumonia improved after surgery.

Conclusions

Segmentectomy via a uniportal thoracoscopic approach could be a novel treatment option for endobronchial lipoma.

Endobronchial lipoma causing progressive dyspnea

We describe a 63-year-old male who presented with progressive exertional dyspnea, post-obstructive pneumonia and chest CT findings of an endobronchial lesion. Bronchoscopy revealed an endobronchial lipoma, which was resected using snare electrocautery. Complete resolution of the patient's symptoms was noted following bronchoscopic resection.

Surgical treatment of an endobronchial lipoma obstructing the right upper bronchus: Imaging features with pathological correlation

Endobronchial lipomas are rare benign unusual tumors of the respiratory tract. We describe a 65-year-old Chinese man with a history of cough due to an endobronchial tumor. The endobronchial biopsy was not excisional and was unable to evaluate the whole tumor. Then the mass was successfully resected via a right lateral thoracotomy. The histopathological diagnosis confirmed a benign lipoma arising from the membranous trachea. His CT features and fiberoptic bronchoscopic findings are shown along with the pathological results. In describing the management of this case, we stress that the clinical treatment of such tumors should be individualized according to the characteristics of each patient and mass.

A case of endobronchial lipoma mimicking bronchial asthma

Endobronchial lipoma is a rare neoplasm of the tracheobronchial tree and it may cause irreversible pulmonary damage due to recurrent pneumonia. Rarely, it may mimic bronchial asthma. We present a 53-year-old woman with an endobronchial lipoma, which had been treated as a bronchial asthma for four years. She also had developed recurrent pneumonia three times.

Mucoid impactions: finger-in-glove sign and other CT and radiographic features

Mucoid impaction is a relatively common finding at chest radiography and computed tomography (CT). Both congenital and acquired abnormalities may cause mucoid impaction of the large airways that often manifests as tubular opacities known as the finger-in-glove sign. The congenital conditions in which this sign most often appears are segmental bronchial atresia and cystic fibrosis. The sign also may be observed in many acquired conditions, include inflammatory and infectious diseases (allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, broncholithiasis, and foreign body aspiration), benign neoplastic processes (bronchial hamartoma, lipoma, and papillomatosis), and malignancies (bronchogenic carcinoma, carcinoid tumor, and metastases). To point to the correct diagnosis, the radiologist must be familiar with the key radiographic and CT features that enable differentiation among the various likely causes. CT is more useful than chest radiography for differentiating between mucoid impaction and other disease processes, such as arteriovenous malformation, and for directing further diagnostic evaluation. In addition, knowledge of the patient's medical history, clinical symptoms and signs, and predisposing factors is important.

Lipoma endobrônquico

Os lipomas são neoplasias benignas compostas basicamente de tecido adiposo e podem se localizar em várias partes do corpo. O caso relatado é de uma paciente que procurou o serviço médico com queixa de pneumonias de repetição. Após a propedêutica diagnóstica, que incluiu radiografia simples de tórax e tomografia computadorizada de tórax, suspeitou-se que havia uma lesão endobrônquica com densidade de gordura. A hipótese diagnóstica era a presença de um lipoma endobrônquico como responsável pelo quadro clínico da paciente, que foi confirmada após tratamento cirúrgico. Os objetivos deste trabalho são relatar o caso de um lipoma endobrônquico e fazer uma revisão da literatura.

[Pleural empyema associated with endobronchial lipoma]

Bronchial benign tumors comprise fewer than 4% of pulmonary neoplasms. Endobronchial lipoma is an extremely rare benign neoplasm accounting for only 0.1% to 0.5% of all lung tumors. Clinical symptoms of lipoma depend on the location of the tumor, the severity of bronchial obstruction, and the functional and anatomical effects on the parenchyma distal to the obstruction. Computed axial tomography usually reveals the adipose composition of the lipomatous tumor. We report the case of an 83-year-old man diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia that led to complications: pleural empyema caused by Haemophilus influenzae infection and atelectasis of the right middle and lower lobes secondary to a lipomatous endobronchial obstruction. Removal of the bronchial lipoma was performed by laser resection.

Radiographic assessment of airway tumors

The initial imaging evaluation of a patient with a suspected tracheal abnormality is the chest radiograph, which is poor for detection of central airway lesions. Prior to the development of CT, planar tomography was performed to better evaluate the deep layers of the chest. Tomography is rarely performed today for chest imaging. There have been major advances in chest radiography techniques secondary to improvements in electronics and computer technology that might ultimately improve plain film assessment of the central airways.

Endobronchial lipomatous hamartoma: a rare cause of bronchial occlusion

A 74-year-old man presented with shortness of breath and vague chest pain. A chest roentgenogram showed subtotal atelectasis of the upper lobe of the left lung and a CT scan revealed an occlusion of the bronchus of the upper lobe of the left lung by an intraluminal tumor. A well-circumscribed yellow tumor obstructing the bronchus of the upper lobe of the left lung was seen by fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Biopsies revealed mature fat tissue and small areas with bone consistent with the diagnosis of an endobronchial predominantly lipomatous hamartoma.