A rare case of huge intrathoracic lipomatosis filling the right pleural cavity removed by open thoracic surgery

ABSTRACT Introduction and importance: Lipoma is a benign tumor that arises from adipose tissue; subcutaneous fat is the most common site. It is the most common soft tissue tumor in adulthood. They are usually curable with simple excision. They are slow growing and can rarely become cancerous. Lipomatosis is when there are multiple lipomas with different pedicles. Lipomas arising from the thoracic pleura are rare and intrathoracic lipomatosis is exceptionally rare. Here we report a case of huge lipomatosis removed from the right pleural cavity in a 65 years old man. Case presentation: A 65 years old male from southern region of Ethiopia, presented with shortness of breath associated with chest pain, productive cough, easy fatigability, and dyspnea on exertion. On exams, he had dullness on chest percussion and absent air entry on the right hemichest on auscultation. He had a history of treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis seven years back. Chest CT showed huge lobulated heterogeneous mass in the right pleural space with significant mediastinal shift to the left. All the large and small masses were removed by a thoracotomy and the specimen was subjected to histopathology examination which revealed myxoid lipoma. Discussion: Lipoma is a benign tumor with no risk of malignant transformation. Intrathoracic lipoma is quite rare that we don't really find much reported cases. Conclusion: Intrathoracic lipomatosis is a rare condition that progresses without symptoms until it reaches a big size, at which point compressive symptoms appear. The primary approach for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes continues to be surgical resection. Highlights