Median Sternotomy for Mediastinal Mass Removal: Thymoma of Unknown Cause

Thymoma is a rare mediastinal malignancy. Although it may often be associated with paraneoplastic syndromes such as hypogammaglobulinemia, pure red cell aplasia, or myasthenia gravis (MG), some thymomas may also be idiopathic in origin. Although thymoma is the most common mass found in the anterior mediastinum, its rarity still proves difficult in swift diagnosis and subsequent treatment. This case presents a patient with an unknown anterior mediastinal mass incidentally found on imaging, with the final diagnosis of thymoma made from a pathologic investigation that was performed post-sternotomy and resection.

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Journal
Cureus
Published
2025-07-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.88364
Primary Topic
Myasthenia Gravis and Thymoma
Type
article
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article

Median Sternotomy for Mediastinal Mass Removal: Thymoma of Unknown Cause

Kieran Murphy, Cemil Purut, Arian Hoodfar, Mitchell Katkic
Cureus
Myasthenia Gravis and Thymoma
article

Median Sternotomy for Mediastinal Mass Removal: Thymoma of Unknown Cause

Kieran Murphy, Cemil Purut, Arian Hoodfar, Mitchell Katkic
article en

Abstract

Thymoma is a rare mediastinal malignancy. Although it may often be associated with paraneoplastic syndromes such as hypogammaglobulinemia, pure red cell aplasia, or myasthenia gravis (MG), some thymomas may also be idiopathic in origin. Although thymoma is the most common mass found in the anterior mediastinum, its rarity still proves difficult in swift diagnosis and subsequent treatment. This case presents a patient with an unknown anterior mediastinal mass incidentally found on imaging, with the final diagnosis of thymoma made from a pathologic investigation that was performed post-sternotomy and resection.

CureusVol. 17(7)
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 73%
Myasthenia Gravis and Thymoma
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