[Surgical treatment of primary mediastinal tumor: a report of 90 cases].

In the past 22 years 90 cases of pathologically confirmed primary mediastinal tumors (PMT) were surgically treated. Of these 90 cases, there were 38 thymomas (42.3%), 19 teratoblastomas (21.2%), 9 neurofibromas (10.0%) and 24 others (26.5%). Radical excision was performed in 70 (77.8%), palliative excision in 6 (6.7%), exploratory thoracotomy in 12 (13.3%). Postoperative death occurred in 2 (2.2%). No relapse was reported in patients who had received radical excision during the follow-up period of 3 months to 13 years. Besides careful history taking and physical examination, X-ray examinations of the chest, particularly CT scan were valuable in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of PMT. Difficulties in diagnosis were due to unusual pathological changes and clinical manifestations. Due precautionary measures should be taken to avoid injury to the heart, major blood vessels and the spinal cord. Cord injury was the consequence of direct operative trauma, compression due to intraspinal hemorrhage, and/or operative interruption of blood supply.