Wh. Mallin et al., FIBROSING MEDIASTINITIS CAUSING NONVISUALIZATION OF ONE LUNG ON PULMONARY SCINTIGRAPHY, Clinical nuclear medicine, 18(7), 1993, pp. 594-596
An interesting case of fibrosing mediastinitis, which is a rare cause
of total nonvisualization of one lung on pulmonary scintigraphy, is pr
esented. Scintigraphy with Tc-99m MAA showed a severe deficit of perfu
sion in the right lung, with normal perfusion of the left lung. Ventil
ation images were normal. CT and MRI each demonstrated the mediastinal
nodal enlargement and MRI demonstrated the ''flow void'' signal pheno
menon in the right pulmonary artery indicating its patency. Confirmati
on of actual patency without pulmonary artery emboli and with poor ven
ous opacification was documented with angiography. Multiple complement
ary imaging modalities were helpful in correctly diagnosing fibrosing
mediastinitis from an extensive list of differential possibilities for
unilateral non-visualization of the lung on perfusion scanning.