[A case of endobronchial fibroma associated with recurrent pneumonia]

We present a case of endobronchial fibroma in a 59-year-old man admitted for repeated pneumonia, successfully treated by endoscopic Nd-YAG laser. His chest X-ray showed an infiltrative shadow in the right lower lung field and a mass shadow within the truncus intermedius. Bronchoscopy revealed a polypoid mass with lobulated whitish surface, obstructing 90% of the lumen. A biopsy taken from the tumor was suggestive of fibroma histologically. Two previous case reports stated that endobronchial fibroma readily detaches from the bronchial wall during removal. The tumor was successfully removed without dropping any tumor fragment to obstruct the distal bronchus by means of biopsy forceps manually attached to an endoscope with endoscopic Nd-YAG laser. The resected tumor was mainly composed of collagen fibers with scanty spindle-shaped fibroblastic cells, which was considered consistent with endobronchial fibroma. Endobronchial fibroma is a rare benign lung tumor, and only seven cases have been reported in the Japanese literature. There was no recurrence at three years and nine months.