A 5-year-old boy with a large hereditary multiple exostoses lump grown into thoracic cavity

Surgical Management of Thoracic Multiple Exostoses

Hereditary multiple exostoses is a rare autosomal dominant condition resulting in the development of multiple osteochondromas. We present the case of a 25-year-old woman with hereditary multiple exostoses who was referred for thoracic surgery assessment due to severe right-sided chest pain. Computed tomographic scan allowed preoperative planning for resection of the lesion. Under general anesthesia, right video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was performed through a cosmetic retromammary incision. Complete removal of the tumor resolved symptoms, and she was discharged 2 days later. We show that video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with a cosmetically placed muscle-sparing incision allowed accurate resection with faster recovery.

Unusual cause of pleuritic chest pain in a child

We present the case of a 5-year-old boy with hereditary multiple exostoses who presented with left-sided pleuritic chest pain. A CT scan of the chest revealed an intrathoracic exostosis in close association with the heart.