Mesenchymoma of the chest wall in children.

Abstract

Benign chest wall mesenchymoma in children is an extremely rare disease. Only 20 patients have been reported in the world literature. We report a chest wall mesenchymoma in a 2-year-old boy who was admitted to the hospital after a routine chest roentgenogram showed a mass in the right upper chest wall. The patient was asymptomatic. Clinical examination was negative, but chest roentgenograms and computed tomography showed a mass in the right upper chest wall involving the third rib. A 2 x 2 x 1.5-cm tumor was excised totally with partial resection of the third rib. The histology of the lesion corresponded to a mesenchymoma (hamartoma) of the chest wall. Our patient has been followed up for 8 years without recurrence.