Fibromyxoma of the rib: report of a case

We present herein the case of a 36-year-old man with fibromyxoma of the rib. At the age of 33 years, an abnormal shadow of the chest was found on a radiographic examination, subsequent to which the mass grew slowly into the intrathorax, and he was referred to our hospital. An X-ray film and computed tomography scan on admission showed an extrapleural mass, 7 x 5 cm in diameter, in the left sixth rib with no evidence of destruction, cortical expansion, or rupture. The patient underwent peripheral osteotomy of the sixth rib, which was resected with a 3-cm margin around the mass. Microscopically, a diagnosis of fibromyxoma was confirmed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of fibromyxoma originating in a rib.