Preoperative Embolization of a Posterior Mediastinal Lipid-Poor Angiolipoma Mimicking a Paravertebral Nerve Sheath Tumor

Abstract

Mediastinal angiolipomas are extremely rare tumors within the thorax, and only 6 cases have been previously reported in the literature. We describe the case of a lipid-poor angiolipoma within the posterior mediastinum of a 63-year-old man who complained of chest pain. Interestingly, initial imaging of the posterior mediastinal mass of our patient suggested a nerve sheath tumor. A specimen from a percutaneous transthoracic core needle biopsy confirmed an angiolipoma. We decided to preoperatively embolize the posterior mediastinal mass to reduce intraoperative bleeding and to facilitate the excision of the tumor.