Intrapulmonary liposarcoma

Intrathoracic tumors which originate from adipose tissue are very rare and usually asymptomatic. They appear in the pleural space, thoracic wall, mediastinum and rarely in the pulmonary parenchyma. They are usually discovered by accident in the course of radiography or CT scan of the thorax. These tumors are removed by a radical excision but they often create local recidives after the surgery. It is presented a case of a man of 65 years of age, who was radiographically established a tumorous mass in the right lower pulmonary segment. CT scan of the thorax clearly showed a limited change of adipose tissue density, inseparable from parietal pleura, in the middle lobe projection, along the lateral thoracic wall, within which a solid change of soft tissue of 3 cm was detected. It was performed a right lateral thoracotomy and tumor was removed. Tumor was located in the middle lobe, clearly encircled from the adjacent parenchyma by a capsule. By pathohistological examination of the removed tissue sample it was established a diagnosis of pleomorph type liposarcoma. There is a high level of security in making the diagnosis of a tumor that originates from the adipose tissue on the basis of a combination of radiological signs, established by CT scan, however, the final diagnosis is pathohistological.