Citation

Bell C, Domingo F, Miller AD, Smith JS, Headrick JR. Case Rep. Surg. 2016; 2016: e7172062.

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee College of Medicine, 979 East Third Street, Suite C720, Chattanooga, TN 37404, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Hindawi Publishing)

DOI

10.1155/2016/7172062

PMID

27660731

PMCID

PMC5021853

Abstract

We report a case of a posterior mediastinal mature cystic teratoma with rupture secondary to blunt chest trauma in a 20-year-old male involved in a motor-vehicle accident. Initial treatment was guided by Advanced Trauma Life Support and a tube thoracostomy was performed for presumed hemothorax. The heterogeneous collection within the thoracic cavity was discovered to be the result of a ruptured cystic mass. Pathologic findings confirmed the mass consistent with a mature cystic teratoma. As mediastinal teratomas are most commonly described arising from the anterior mediastinum, the posterior location of the teratoma described in this report is exceedingly rare.

Language: en