Successful Resection of a Primary Liposarcoma in the Anterior Mediastinum in a Child: Report of a Case

Primary liposarcomas of the mediastinum are very rare. We report on a 13-year-old girl who presented with a huge mediastinal tumor. The tumor was extirpated by a median sternotomy with a right thoracotomy. The tumor included the superior vena cava in the anterior mediastinum. It therefore probably originated from the anterior mediastinal fat tissue, possibly from the thymus. A pathological examination revealed myxoid liposarcoma. At 35 months postoperatively, the patient has not shown any recurrence. Received: March 15, 2000 / Accepted: September 26, 2000