Mediastinal fibrosis in a patient with idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis

Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2008 Apr;7(2):336-8. doi: 10.1510/icvts.2007.166033. Epub 2008 Jan 24.

Abstract

Combined idiopathic retroperitoneal-mediastinal fibrosis is rare. We report a case of mediastinal fibrosis that followed the onset of retroperitoneal fibrosis by six years. A 61-year-old asymptomatic woman was diagnosed with idiopathic mediastinal fibrosis in December of 2006 after discovering a 1.4 cm thick prevascular mass encasing the aortic arch. In August of 2001 the patient had been diagnosed with retroperitoneal fibrosis, which was successfully treated surgically. An axillary thoracotomy found dense adhesions that fixed the arch of the aorta to the adjacent lung. Mediastinal biopsies were consistent with idiopathic fibrosis. We describe the imaging of this case and briefly review the literature.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aorta, Thoracic / pathology*
  • Aorta, Thoracic / surgery
  • Biopsy
  • Female
  • Fibrosis
  • Humans
  • Lung / pathology*
  • Lung / surgery
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Mediastinal Diseases / etiology*
  • Mediastinal Diseases / pathology
  • Mediastinal Diseases / surgery
  • Middle Aged
  • Retroperitoneal Fibrosis / complications*
  • Retroperitoneal Fibrosis / pathology
  • Retroperitoneal Fibrosis / surgery
  • Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted
  • Thoracotomy
  • Tissue Adhesions
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed