[Enucleation for a giant esophageal leiomyoma; report of a case].

A 32-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of a mediastinal tumor with mild dysphagia. Computed tomography (CT) showed that the tumor was located in the neck and the posterior mediastinum. An esophagogram demonstrated severe distortion of the esophageal lumen and an endoscopic examination disclosed a submucosal bulge covered by normal mucosa with no erosion and no ulceration. A CT-guided needle biopsy for neck lesion of the tumor was performed and the histopathological diagnosis was an esophageal leiomyoma. Complete enucleation via a left anteroaxillary thoracotomy for the tumor was performed without perforation of esophageal mucosa. The resected tumor was 12 cm in size. The final diagnosis of the resected tumor located in the cervical, upper, middle and intramural esophagus was a rare giant esophageal leiomyoma. Postoperative course was uneventful. We suggested that enucleation with an operative procedure selected carefully for a giant esophageal leiomyoma was attempted for preservation of esophageal function.