Hemangiopericytoma of the tracheal wall

A hemangiopericytoma occurred on the posterior tracheal wall in a 46-year-old man. A review of the pathologic findings showed that compressed groups of capillaries were lined by an intact reticulin sheath that was surrounded by spindle-shaped pericytes. The ultramicroscopic findings of small spindle cells with a surrounding basal lamina and intracellular microfilaments in the absence of neurosecretory granules are important diagnostic features. Emphasis is placed on the impossibility of differentiating benign and malignant lesions pathologically, the need for long-term clinical follow-up, and the necessity for adequate complete surgical resection of these lesions. The use of a surgical approach to the posterior side of the tracheal wall can prevent postoperative stenosis.