benign mediastinal teratoma with intrapulmonary and bronchial rupture presenting with recurrent hemoptysis

mediastinal teratomas are usually asymptomatic tumors, located most commonly in the anterior mediastinum. very rarely, such tumors may rupture into the tracheobronchial tree, lung, pleura or pericardium. computed tomography (ct) is helpful in the diagnosis and differentiation of ruptured and unruptured tumors. we report a case of ruptured anterior mediastinal teratoma in a 20-year-old female presenting with recurrent hemoptysis and cough; thus, mimicking a lung malignancy or tuberculosis. ct demonstrated a heterogeneous fat containing lesion in the anterior mediastinum with extension into the lingular lobe. subsequent fine needle aspiration cytology (fnac) yielded plenty of anucleate squames and debris, and a clear cut diagnosis could not be made. total excision of the tumor was performed and histopathology of the surgically excised mass confirmed the ct diagnosis.