Intrathoracic Mass in a Young Woman With Skin Lesions

Abstract

History A 31-year-old woman was hospitalized for further evaluation of a mass that was discovered on a chest roentgenogram taken because of an upper respiratory tract infection. Physical examination revealed several cafe-aulait spots over the skin. Kyphoscoliosis of the midthoracic vertebrae with posterior scalloping of some of the vertebral bodies was also noted. The admission posteroanterior chest film is shown in Fig 1. A well-defined left paravertebral soft-tissue mass density measured about 6 cm in diameter. Figure 2 is an anteroposterior tomogram of the dorsal spine. Diagnosis Lateral intrathoracic meningocele in a patient with neurofibromatosis. Figures 1 and 2 show a large left paravertebral mass with scalloping of the left side of the bodies of D7 to D9. The possibility of neurofibromatosis with an intrathoracic meningocele was suspected from the patient's physical examination and roentgen findings. This was confirmed by myelography (Fig 3), which showed contrast material filling the masslike