MR imaging of mediastinal thymolipoma

Thymolipoma associated with lymphocytosis in a 6-year-old girl: A case report

Thymolipoma is a benign and rare tumor that could be found at any age. Thymolipoma associated with the myasthenia gravis, Graves disease, aplastic anemia, and hypogammaglobulinemia was reported previously, but in this case, thymolipoma is associated with lymphocytosis. A 6-year-old girl was brought to the hospital because of a chronic cough. Her evaluation revealed a 130 × 160× 160 mm fat-containing soft tissue mass arising from anterior mediastinum with complete left lung collapse and contralateral mediastinal shift. Her past medical history showed that she had been evaluated and treated unsuccessfully due to severe lymphocytosis two years earlier. Her peripheral blood and bone marrow cell morphology were normal; in contrast, blood cell count and CD flow cytometry showed severe lymphocytosis. The patient's tumor was excised entirely without any complications, and lymphocytosis resolved during the follow-up period. Because the T lymphocytes are developed in the thymus, and more than 80% of cells in CD flow cytometry were T lymphocytes, and the lymphocytosis resolved with tumor removal; therefore, the authors suggested that Thymolipoma could be associated with lymphocytosis.

Clinical and radiologic review of the normal and abnormal thymus: pearls and pitfalls

At imaging, the thymus appears in a variety of shapes and sizes, even in the same individual. It gradually involutes with age and may acutely shrink during periods of bodily stress. During the recovery period, it grows back to its original size or even larger, a phenomenon known as thymic rebound hyperplasia. These anatomic variations and dynamic changes appear to be the main source of confusion with pathologic conditions. In turn, these misinterpretations may lead to prolongation or alteration of the chemotherapy regimen or to unnecessary radiation therapy, biopsy, or thymectomy. Familiarity with the embryology, anatomy, and dynamic physiology of the thymus is essential to avoid unnecessary imaging or invasive procedures. Radiologists play a major role in differentiating normal thymic variants, ectopic thymic tissue, and nonneoplastic thymic conditions such as rebound hyperplasia from neoplastic conditions. Knowledge of the imaging findings of thymic tumors and their mimics may help radiologists arrive at the correct diagnosis.

Asymptomatic giant mediastinal mass: a rare case of thymolipoma

Thymolipoma is a very rare benign neoplasm of the thymus. We present the case of a 42-year-old male with a massive mediastinal tumor discovered on a chest X-ray after a motorcycle accident. The patient had no complaints, and his physical examination was unremarkable. Chest CT scans revealed a lipomatous mass containing areas of soft tissue density. The patient was submitted to median sternotomy expanded to left anterolateral thoracotomy, resulting in the complete excision of the tumor. The pathological diagnosis was thymolipoma. Thymolipoma usually attains enormous dimensions by the time of diagnosis, and the occasional symptoms are related to compression of adjacent structures. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice and offers the only possibility of cure. The airway deserves special care during anesthesia induction.

A case of massive thymolipoma

A massive anterior mediastinal tumor was discovered in a 9-year-old girl with long-standing symptoms of asthma. Preoperative computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results suggested the presence of a thymolipoma, a rare benign tumor of the thymus. Few cases have been reported in the literature, although the histological and radiographic features have been well described. This case confirms previously reported characteristics and also illuminates new aspects of clinical presentation and perioperative management.

Pathogenesis of thymolipoma: report of three cases

Three case reports of thymolipoma are herein presented. One patient presented with myasthenia gravis, while the other patients were asymptomatic. The tumors in our cases all had histopathologically different features: case 1, lipoma of the thymus; case 2, involuted thymic hyperplasia; and case 3, typical thymolipoma. The histopathological findings of thymolipoma are discussed in the context of the pathogenesis of thymolipoma.

MR imaging of thymolipoma

A case of thymolipoma that continued from the level of the thymus gland, drooping inferiorly toward the diaphragm is described. Coronal T1-weighted MR images clearly demonstrated the location and characteristic appearances of the tumor.

Thymolipoma

Although the diagnosis of thymolipoma has improved with the introduction of computerized tomography (CT), variations in CT appearance are still being described; this paper describes a case which resembled a lipoma. The CT features of thymolipoma are discussed with special reference to the differential diagnosis. Surgical excision should be considered for patients who are found to exhibit a fatty intrathoracic mass on CT.

Thymolipoma: a report of three cases

Three cases of thymolipoma, seen in a 6 year old boy, a 34 year old woman and a 24 year old man are presented herein. The weight of each tumor was 1380 g, 670 g and 560 g respectively. The 2 male patients had no symptoms and the woman only complained of a fever. On CT scan the thymic tissue was recognized as islands of soft tissue density within a fatty mass, and T1 weighted MRI was helpful in demonstrating the predominant fatty nature of this tumor. Thus, our experience demonstrates that CT and MRI are valuable for establishing a diagnosis of thymolipoma. In a review of the literature on the subject, some clinical features of this non-malignant tumor in the mediastinum are discussed. Although rare, thymolipoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of mediastinal tumors.