ETHANOL SCLEROSIS - ONE OF THE BEST TREATMENTS FOR THYMIC CYST IN VERY ELDERLY PATIENTS

An 83-year-old female patient with a giant thymic cyst that was succes sfully treated by percutaneous aspiration and ethanol injection, The p atient had complained of coughing and chest discomfort for several yea rs, A chest X-ray film revealed the shadow of a large abnormal mass in the anterior mediastinum. We diagnosed it as a thymic cyst. The patie nt refused surgery because of her age, We chose a less invasive therap y, namely, ethanol sclerosis of the cyst, The cyst was successfully tr eated without any complications, and no recurrence was found at the on e-year follow-up, This therapy may be one of the best treatments for t hymic cysts, especially in very elderly patients.