BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Collections of extraluminal paratracheal gas may be present on CT images of the neck and cervical spine and the radiologist may question whether this is related to a pathologic process. This study is designed to demonstrate the appearance, clinical presentation, and prevalence of paratracheal air cysts, which, on CT examinations of the neck, can mimic abnormal extralumina...

Paratracheal air cysts are a rare entity in which cystic formation occurs adjacent to the trachea. Most patients with paratracheal air cysts are asymptomatic, and the cysts are detected incidentally on chest radiograph or computed tomography (CT) scan. Most symptomatic patients complain of pulmonary symptoms or repeated respiratory infection. Rarely, the air cysts can lead to paralysis of the r...

A 45-year-old caucasian man with progressive dyspnea appeared to have a giant intrathoracic cyst in the anterior mediastinum encasing the heart and compressing both lungs. He underwent successful removal of the cyst through a median sternotomy. Recovery was uneventful. Gross examination revealed a thin-walled cyst filled with clear fluid. Microscopic histopathologic examination revealed a cyst ...

Bronchogenic cysts of the mediastinum are benign congenital lesions, usually found in adults. When surgery is indicated, the classical approach is resection of the lesion by thoracotomy or thoracoscopy. Herein, we describe the complete resection of a paratracheal bronchogenic cyst by cervical mediastinoscopy. We also include a brief review and discussion of the literature.

A node or not a node; that is the question? Case history A 40-year-old woman was referred to the respiratory assessment clinic with a history of sudden onset, right-sided, posterior chest pain. The pain was noted to be exacerbated by respiratory excursion. She had a history of well-controlled asthma and seronegative arthritis for which she was being treated with methotrexate and depomedrone. No...