Video-assisted thoracoscopic management of an anterior mediastinal teratoma: Report of a case

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is a newly developed technique, the advantages of which mainly benefit the patient. Its feasibility and in dications have been described widely, but to the best of our knowledge no r eport of the successful VATS management of a large mediastinal teratoma has ever been documented. When such a tumor is encountered, conversion to thor acotomy would usually be carried out. We report our experience of removing a large teratoma, 8 x 7 x 11 cm in size, from the anterior mediastinum, emp loying VATS and utilizing only four small intercostal incisions without spr eading the ribs.