Giant mediastinal lymphangioma in a neonate: report of a case

We report herein the case of a male neonate with a giant cystic lymphangioma confined to the bilateral anterior mediastinum. He developed very severe respiratory distress on the 8th day of life due to the mediastinal mass, and almost total excision of the bilateral mass was performed on the 12th day of life through a right axillar thoracotomy. The pathological diagnosis was cystic lymphangioma. Postoperatively, right phrenic nerve dysfunction was evident, for which diaphragmatic plication could only be performed 5 weeks after the initial surgery due to the prolonged respiratory support. In the 4 years since undergoing surgery the child has shown no sign of recurrence and has not experienced any further respiratory problems.