Cholesterol granuloma mimicking an anterior mediastinal tumor – a case report

Abstract

There are many different types of mediastinal masses, which makes it challenging to diagnose them. Furthermore, the clinical presentation can range from asymptomatic to life-threatening. We present the case of a 68-year-old male with an incidental finding of a tumor located in the anterior mediastinum. A computed tomography (CT) of the thorax and an 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) suggested a thymoma, which is the most common primary tumor of the anterior mediastinum. The patient was scheduled for a robotic-assisted thoracoscopy (RATS) thymectomy. Both this procedure and the postoperative course were uneventful. The pathology report showed multiple cholesterol granulomas in the mediastinal fat. Furthermore, no malignancy (e.g. a thymoma) could be found. A cholesterol granuloma mimicking an anterior mediastinal tumor is extremely rare.