TUMOUR PRESENTING AS A RETROSTERNAL ABSCESS FOLLOWING MEDIAN STERNOTOMY |
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| Authors: | IR Martin BSc FRCR NI Jowett MD MRCP |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Departments of Diagnostic Imaging, Withybush General Hospital, Pembrokeshire, Wales;2. Departments of Medicine, Withybush General Hospital, Pembrokeshire, Wales |
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| Abstract: | A 73-year-old lady, who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting eight months previously, presented with rigors and chest pain. The upper sternum was tender, swollen and erythematous, suggesting a retrosternal abscess. Radiological investigation supported the clinical diagnosis. Local infections following median sternotomy are uncommon, most being early and superficial. Late infections are very uncommon, and should suggest alternative pathology. Following open surgical drainage, histology showed the mass to be a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. The primary tumour was never found. |
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