ASYMPTOMATIC MEDIASTINAL MASS – VENOUS ANEURYSM OF THE LEFT INNOMINATE VEIN – BE IT A DIFFERENTIAL

Abstract

Venous aneurysms in the mediastinum are very rare and may present with pressure symptoms or may be incidentally detected. Only few reports of thoracic venous aneurysms are reported in the literature. We describe an unusual case of an asymptomatic mediastinal venous aneurysm of the left innominate vein. Our patient is a 30 years old female presented to the medicine department with anemia and constitutional symptoms. A mediastinal mass was detected on the initial chest radiograph. CT thorax with contrast showed a left innominate vein aneurysm with partial thrombus in the wall of the aneurysm in the anterior mediastinum for which the patient was operated. We would like to emphasize that vascular lesions including aneurysms and malformations should be kept as differentials of the anterior mediastinal mass and contrast enhanced CT chest must be performed before contemplating image guided biopsies, as this may lead to catastrophic consequences otherwise.