[A case of bronchial lipoma treated by Nd-YAG laser surgery]

A 59-year-old man was referred to our hospital with complaint of cough. On physical examination the patient was 159 cm tall and weighted 68 kg. Chest X-ray showed an infiltrative shadow in the left lower lung field. Bronchoscopic findings revealed a polypoid tumor with smooth surface, located at the lower part of the left main bronchus and occupying over two-thirds of the left basal bronchus. A hamartoma was suspected as the result of bronchial biopsy. Endoscopic Nd-YAG laser surgery was performed. The left basal bronchus was opened. Histologically the tumor consisted mainly of mature fat tissue with collagen fibers and was diagnosed as a bronchial lipoma. Bronchial lipoma arising from the submucosal tissue of a large bronchus, occurs mainly in obese and middle-aged men. It is a rare benign tumor of the lung and only 38 cases have been reported in Japan.