[Thymoma implants in the pleura as a variant of intrathoracic recurrence]

Extended thymectomy was carried out in 152 patients with various types of thymomas, 61 ones with noninvasive and 91 with invasive ones; in the latter case surgery was followed by chemo- and radiotherapy. Three patients with non-myasthenic invasive thymomas (NMIT) (2.0% of all patients or 10.7% of NMIT ones) developed thymoma implantations to the pleura in the course of 2 years postoperation. All these patients developed pleural or pulmonary invasion by the moment of surgery. Postoperative chemo- and radiotherapy did not prevent intrathoracic recurrence. One of the possible pathogenetic mechanisms of thymoma pleural implantation may be pleural seeding resultant from invasive tumor growth. Pleurisy associated with implantation is nonspecific and easily arrested.