The CT Diagnosis of Pleural Lipoma

The histological diagnosis of any intra-thoracic mass by non-invasive techniques remains difficult. Those masses lying near the mediastinum may be accessible to bron-choscopy and biopsy whereas peripheral lesions adjacent to the rib cage are more suited to percutaneous needle biopsy. Computerised Tomography of the thorax provides vital information as to the physical structure and properties of any mass lesion the results of which may enable a histological diagnosis to be made with a reasonable degree of certainty. Its ability to confirm the presence of fatty tissue, however, provides accurate histological proof, thus avoiding the necessity for any further investigations. We report a case of a peripheral intra-thoracic mass lesion where Computerised Tomography diagnosed the presence of a benign sub-pleural lipoma.