Mediastinal Thymolipoma: An Evaluation of the Clinical and Radiological Features and the Surgical Outcomes in 11 Cases

ABSTRACT Background: Thymolipoma is a rare benign tumour of the mediastinum, accounting for 2%-9% of all thymic tumours. Although many case reports have been published in the literature, few studies have analysed the clinical and radiological features and the surgical outcomes of this tumour. Objective: To evaluate the clinical and radiological features and the surgical outcomes of the patients with thymolipoma. Methods: We reviewed the records of the Pathology Department from the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2013. Results: We identified 11 patients with thymolipoma. There were eight male and three female patients. Their ages ranged from 27 to 72 years, with the mean age of 40 years. All patients described pulmonary or extrapulmonary symptoms. Two patients (18.2%) had myasthenia gravis. Chest X-ray was normal in four patients. Computed tomography of the thorax revealed a mass located in the anterior mediastinum in all patients. It showed fat attenuation in 4 of 11 patients (36.4%). Thymectomy was performed in all patients. The surgical approach was thoracotomy in five, sternotomy in four and video-assisted thoracic surgery in two patients. Thymolipomas ranged in size from 4 to 33 cm. One patient died 2 years after surgery. None of the remaining patients had evidence of recurrence on follow-up. Conclusion: Thymolipoma is a rare tumour of the thymus. It may be associated with myasthenia gravis. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice in the patients with thymolipoma. Complete surgical resection is the cure in most patients.

Giant Thymolipoma – A Rare Benign Tumour of the Thymus Gland

Thymolipoma is a rare benign tumour of mediastinum. It is often asymptomatic but can enlarge significantly prior to the diagnosis. It consists of thymic and fatty tissue surrounded by a capsule. A 23-year-old man sought medical attention for respiratory distress since 10 years progressively increasing in severity. Computed tomography findings were suggestive of a space occupying lesion in the anterior mediastinum with extension into hemi-thorax on either side. The tumour was surgically resected by median sternotomy. The tumour measured ∼21x25x10 cm and weighed 2800 gm. Histopathological examination revealed thymolipoma.

A Rare Case of Asymptomatic Mediastinal Thymolipoma-presenting as Opaque Hemithorax.

Aim: To describe the imaging features of a rare case of an asymptomatic thymolipoma presenting as opaque hemithorax. Thymolipoma is a rare benign neoplasm of the thymus which is composed of thymic elements and adipose tissue. Presentation of Case: We present a case of opaque hemithorax in a 37 year old male following trauma to the chest. The patient had pain in the left side of the chest following a trauma and his physical examination showed tenderness in the left upper chest. Discussion: Plain radiography was done which showed an opaque hemithorax. Computed tomography of the chest was done which revealed a large fat containing mass lesion occupying the entire right hemithorax. Conclusion: To our knowledge there are only few cases of such unusual presentation of giant thymolipomas reported in English literature. The main purpose of this report is to discuss the rare presentation of a giant asymptomatic thymolipoma and the role of imaging in aiding the diagnosis.

Thymolipoma in a 13-year-old Korean girl / 소아과

Thymolipoma is a rare benign tumor of anterior mediastinum. Most patients are asymptomatic with incidental finding of the tumor during a diagnostic workup of other medical problems. We present a case of 13-year-old girl with anterior mediastinal thymolipoma, surgically removed after an incidental diagnosis.

A Case of Thymolipoma in a Child

Thymolipoma is a rare benign mediastinal tumor, composed of mature fatty and thymic tissues. A 9-year-old boy was referred with a one-month history of neck swelling. Preoperative computed tomography scan and fine needle aspiration biopsy suggested thymolipoma. Despite it being rare, thymolipoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of mediastinal tumors. Characteristics of its clinical feature and radiological findings that can differentiated it from other mediastinal tumors are discussed with a review of the literatures.

A Case of Thymolipoma Simulating Cardiomegaly / 결핵

Thymolipoma is rare benign tumor of the thymic gland and mostly occurs at anterior mediastinum. Thymolipoma comprises 2~9% of thymic tumor and less than 1% of mediastinal mass. Therefore, thymolipoma should be differentiated from anterior mediastinal tumor such as thymoma, germ cell tumor and lymphoma. These tumors resemble cardiomegaly, pleural effusion, basal atelectasis, pericardial tumor and cyst, pleural tumor, lung cancer and pulmonary sequestration, and differentiated from above mentioned diseases. Though most cases are asymptomatic, there can be dyspnea with compression of adjacent organ by mass effect, and myasthenia gravis. We experienced a thymolipoma simulating cardiomegaly and report the case with the review of literatures.

Thymolipoma one case report / 대한흉부외과학회지

We experienced a case of thymolipoma that is a rare benign mediastinal tumor, composed of normal thymic tissue and matured adipose tissue. A 46-years-old woman was admitted to the department of medicine due to lower abdominal pain. Simple chest PA showed a large mass shadow at right cardiac border. Chest CT scanning showed well defined large fatty mass at right cardiac border which was suggested thymolipoma. The mass was resected and confirmed as thymolipoma histopathologically.

Thymolipoma simulating cardiomegaly: A case report.

A routine chest radiograph of a 27-year-old woman who presented with chronic cough for four weeks disclosed an anterior mediastinal mass simulating cardiomegaly. The computed tomography revealed a mass with diffuse fat density intermingled with soft tissue density. At thoracotomy a thymolipoma weighing 750 g was completely resected and typical histological findings were demonstrated. She made a good recovery and remained in good health at her most recent follow-up visit.

Two cases of thymolipoma

No abstract available.