Chest wall hamartoma: an alarming chest lesion with a benign course

Chest wall hamartoma is a very rare mass lesion of the chest wall that is manifest at birth or in early infancy with deformity of the thoracic wall and/or varying grades of respiratory distress. The authors report on an 11-month-old infant presenting with chest wall hamartoma who was treated by en bloc excision of the lesion including the involved ribs. They emphasize the importance of early and complete excision of the lesion even in minimally symptomatic patients to avoid lethal respiratory complications, more severe postoperative orthopedic problems, and malignant transformation.