Skip to main content

Spontaneous hemorrhage of a thymic cyst in an adult: Report of a case

Surgery Today volume 40, pages 958–962 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Mediastinal cysts account for about 19% of all mediastinal masses, and thymic cysts represent only about 1.5% of anterior mediastinal masses. Thymic cysts do not usually cause symptoms and are often found incidentally on routine chest radiography. We report the case of a thymic cyst that hemorrhaged into the mediastinum and the right pleural cavity, causing chest pain. The patient, a 55-year-old man, underwent emergency surgical resection and recovered uneventfully.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  1. Abell MR. Mediastinal cyst. Arch Pathol 1956;61:360–379.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ellison RT 3rd, Corrao WM, Fox MJ, Braman SS. Spontaneous mediastinal hemorrhage in patients on chronic hemodialysis. Ann Intern Med 1981;95:704–706.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Chalaoui J, Samson L, Robillard P, Constantin A, Dussault RG. General benign thymic cyst complicated by hemorrhage. Radiographics 1990;10:957–958.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Tsuda K, Yoshida I, Ohshima K, Morishita Y. Ruptured thymic cyst with mediastinal hemorrhage and hemothorax — a case report and reviews of the literature. Nippon Kyobu Geka Gakkai Zasshi 1997;45:1654–1659.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Ohno K, Utsumi T, Sasaki Y, Suzuki Y. Spontaneous thymic cyst hemorrhage causing hemothorax. Jpn J Thoracic Cardiovasc Surg 2003;51:638–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Lachanas E, Konofaros P, Birba G, Tomos P. A rupture of a huge thymic cyst into the pleural cavity: a case report. Respir Med 2006;100:1858–1860.

    CAS  Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Zaitlin N, Rozenman J, Yellin A. Papillary adenocarcinoma in a thymic cyst: a pitfall of thoracoscopic excision. Ann Thorac Surg 2003;76:1279–1281.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Osaki T, Nakagawa M. Multilocular mediastinal cyst with rim calcification: report of a case. Surg Today 2008;38:52–55.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Thoracic Surgery and Pathology, Saitama Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, 1696 Itai, Kumagaya, Saitama, 360-0105, Japan

    Yuichi Saito, Katsumi Murai, Yasuyuki Kawai, Nobumasa Takahashi, Tomohiko Ikeya, Eishin Hoshi & Yoshinori Kawabata

Authors
  1. Yuichi Saito
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Katsumi Murai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yasuyuki Kawai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nobumasa Takahashi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tomohiko Ikeya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Eishin Hoshi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Yoshinori Kawabata
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Saito, Y., Murai, K., Kawai, Y. et al. Spontaneous hemorrhage of a thymic cyst in an adult: Report of a case. Surg Today 40, 958–962 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-009-4136-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-009-4136-0

Key words

  • Mediastinal tumor
  • Thymic cyst
  • Hemothorax
  • Surgery
  • Emergency