Preoperative embolization of Castleman's disease using microspheres

Castleman's disease is a rare form of lymph node hyperplasia most commonly presenting as a solitary hypervascular mediastinal mass. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice, but this can be associated with significant blood loss due to its hypervascularity. We report two cases with a preoperative diagnosis of mediastinal Castleman's disease in whom preoperative embolization with Trisacryl gelatin microspheres (Biosphere Medical, Rockland, MA) was performed. Compared with the literature, a decrease in the amount of perioperative bleeding was noted in both cases.