A rare case: 47-years-old male with mature Mediastinal Teratom

Introduction: Mediastinal teratoma is a tumor originating from germ cells. The global incidence of teratoma is 1 per 4000 births. In the mediastinum, germ tumors account for 1% to 3% of all cases. The anterior mediastinum is where extragonadal germ cell tumors are most prevalent and are often benign. The symptoms are manifestations of pushing the tumor into the surrounding environment.

Case Presentation: Our hospital received a referral for a 47-year-old male bus driver for diagnostic purposes with complaints of shortness of breath 3 months before his admission to the hospital, which has been getting worse in the last 1 month. A chest X-ray was performed in previous hospital showed a mediastinal mass. Bronchoscopy showed no source of bleeding. A contrast chest CT scan showed a mass in the superior anterior mediastinum with a well-defined, lobulated that deviated the trachea to the right and compressed the heart. Open thoracotomy was performed followed by pathology examination which shows mature teratoma. The patient was given antibiotics and discharged three days later with pretty good outcome. No mass or infiltration was found.

Conclusion: Mature mediastinal teratoma is a rare case. These tumors might cause compression to the adjacent organs and structures and cause symtoms. Chest CT scan is considered good modality choice to evaluate compression of the surrounding organs and post-treatment comparation.