RARE THORACIC (MEDIASTINAL) MENINGOCELE IN AN ADULT: CASE REPORT AND BRIEF LITERATURE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15547/tjs.2025.3.014Keywords:
meningocele, posterior mediastinal mass, thoracic meningocele, spina bifidaAbstract
Objective: The aim of this case report is to acquaint clinicians - radiologists, neurosurgeons, and thoracic surgeons - with this rare entity, which presents as a posterior mediastinal mass often detected incidentally on chest radiography in later adilthood.
Materials and Methods:A 43-year-old patient with a radiologically confirmed thoracic mass on chest radiography obtained in the context of a confirmed COVID-19 infection. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed on 19 November 2021 demonstrated a cystic lesion in the posterior mediastinum, to the left of the vertebral column. Findings raised suspicion for a communication of the lesion with the spinal canal.
Results: After preoperative evaluation, surgical treatment was undertaken: posterolateral thoracotomy, mediastinotomy, resection of the meningocele, and duraplasty for closure of the defect. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 7. At 6-month follow-up, there was no evidence of fistulization or other complications.
Conclusion: In patients with confirmed posterior mediastinal masses located in the costovertebral angle, the possibility of an anterior mediastinal meningocele should not be excluded. Surgical treatment is the only definitive diagnostic and therapeutic approach for this pathology.
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