Dumbbell neurogenic tumor of the mediastinum: a report of three cases undergoing single-staged complete removal without thoracotomy

Of a total thirteen patients who underwent surgery for a neurogenic tumor in the posterior mediastinum 4 (30.8 per cent) presented with dumbbell type development of the tumor. Along with a comparatively greater incidence in the number of cases of dumbbell neurogenic tumors in the posterior mediastinum, resection has also recently become more popular, necessitating the establishment of a standard operative approach for this type of tumor. We successfully removed dumbbell neurogenic tumor from the posterior mediastinum in our 3 most recent cases via a dorsal approach by virtue of a laminectomy and resection of a small portion of the neighbouring rib root without opening the parietal pleura at all. These three patients were a 14 year old female, a 54 year old male and a 68 year old female, respectively, and the largest diameter in cm and level of origin of the tumors were 5.5 at Th 1 in case 1, 3.0 at Th 2 in case 2 and 3.7 at Th 11 in case 3. The operative approach described herein was easy to perform, felt secure and was less invasive and better tolerated by the patients than the thoracotomy approach. Avoiding a thoracotomy in such cases has many advantages to enumerate, but does not seem to have been clearly aimed at by others to date. We therefore propose our technique as a standard approach for dumbbell neurogenic tumors in the posterior mediastinum.