Thoracoscopic resection of a huge mediastinal cystic lymphangioma

Mediastinal cystic lymphangioma is an extremely uncommon benign tumor. The patients with mediastinal cystic lymphangioma are often misdiagnosed because of no specific symptoms. The cysts usually are incidentally found and preoperative diagnosis is difficult due to their atypical appearance on imaging studies. Most cases are diagnosed during or after the operation. Moreover, the standard surgical approach for resection has not yet been well established. We report a case of an adult patient with a giant mediastinal cystic lymphangioma that was successfully resected by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). This case report shows that resection by VATS is feasible when mediastinal cystic tumor is suspected, even if they are huge, and that VATS may be an alternative to open thoracotomy to treat mediastinal cystic lymphangioma.