Resection of a Posterior Mediastinal Mass in a 4-Year-Old Child Complicated by Difficult Airway Management and Emergent Use of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Literature on posterior mediastinal masses is limited. Furthermore, they have traditionally been described to pose lower cardiopulmonary risks compared with anterior mediastinal masses. Studies on posterior mediastinal masses are even more limited in the pediatric population. We present a case of a large posterior mediastinal mass in a 4-year-old child who presented with extremely difficult airway management during endobronchial intubation due to severe external compression that led to use of an adapted airway management technique with a rigid airway exchanger for lung isolation. Due to the pathology of the mass, a tracheal tear was encountered during surgical dissection and the patient required emergent venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to allow for successful airway repair and complete resection of the mass.

Giant Mediastinal Ganglioneuroma in a Female Child

We report an eight year female patient admitted to the department of pediatrics at Abbasia Pulmonary Hospital at Cairo, Egypt. The child was complaining of pain on the right lower chest and upper abdome. On evaluation by CT of the chest, there was a huge posterior mediastinal mass occupying more than three quarters of the right hemithorx. Preoperative histopathology using CT guided needle biopsy revealed ganglioneuroma. The tumor was resected completely via right standard posterolateral thoracotomy without complications. Postoperative histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of ganglioneuroma.