Giant fibrous tumor misdiagnosed as traumatic hemothorax

Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura are neoplasms of the mesenchymal tissue of the pleural mesothelium. The most frequent symptoms are dyspnea, coughing and chest pain. A 45-year-old female patient presented after a thoracic contusion. A radio-opaque image was evidenced on chest X-ray. At the initial hospital, a hemorrhagic fluid was aspirated at thoracocentesis and the patient was transferred to our hospital with diagnosis of traumatic hemothorax. A thoracic CT showed a tumoral formation filling two-thirds of the left hemithorax. The transthoracic biopsy finding was compatible with a fibrous tumor. The patient was taken for surgery and the large pleural tumor was excised. In conclusion, a large pleural fibrous tumor was initially mistaken for hemothorax. A CT-scan revealed the tumoral nature of the thoracic opacity.