Use of ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle biopsy in the diagnosis of mediastinal tumors

We herein report the usefulness of ultrasoundguided percutaneous needle biopsy for histological diagnosis in 18 patients with mediastinal tumors. Computed tomography revealed these tumors to be in contact with the chest wall. The preoperative diagnosis was thymoma in 7 patients, germinoma in 5, neurogenic tumor in 3, and other in 3. The most commonly encountered indication for an ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle biopsy was an anterior mediastinal lesion (78%; 14 of 18 patients). In 16 (89%) of the 18 patients, the biopsy diagnosis corresponded to the post-operative diagnosis. No complications were encountered in any of the patients. This new technique of ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle biopsy is both relatively simple and highly accurate and may thus be useful for outpatients. Preoperative ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle biopsy is thus considered to be a safe and reliable method for the histological diagnosis of mediastinal tumors, and a good alternative to traditional biopsy techniques such as mediastinoscopy or thoracotomy.Presented at the 11th Biennial Asian Congress on Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November, 21–25, 1993.