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Mediastinal lymphangioma is one of the rarest benign mediastinal masses. We report the successful minimally invasive surgical treatment of multiple cystic lymphangiomas in a middle-aged man with a familial history of lung cancer. This case report describes cystic lymphangioma as a rare differential diagnosis for a mediastinal mass in an adult.

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BACKGROUND: Due to its rarity there is no clear policy on the management of spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM). METHODS: We treated 23 SPM patients between January 1 996 and November 2 006. There were 20 males and 3 females and their mean age was 27. Clinical records of the patients were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: The most frequent symptoms were neck swelling (n = 20) and rhinolalia (n = 15). Onset of the symptoms was acute. A preceding factor was found in 19 (83 %) patients; these included vigorous cough, forced physical activity, vigorous sneezing and enormous efforts during spontaneous vaginal delivery. Chest X-ray was sufficient to show mediastinal free air in 18 patients. Computerized chest tomography showed pneumomediastinum in all patients. Twenty patients were treated expectantly. Subcutaneous air drainage was needed to drain massive subcutaneous emphysema in three patients. CONCLUSIONS: Acute onset of typical symptoms, the existence of a preceding factor and the exclusion of other possible causes of pneumomediastinum with the help of CT are sufficient to make a diagnosis of SPM. A surgical intervention is generally not needed for the treatment of this entity.

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In recent years, tuberculosis has re-emerged as a serious public health problem, raising the possibility that tuberculous eye disease may also have become more prevalent. Ocular tuberculosis usually occurs in apparently healthy individuals. It is rarely observed in patients with active pulmonary disease. An eight-year-old boy was admitted to our department because of chronic granulomatous anterior uveitis on his left eye. His medical history was unremarkable. There were no systemic symptoms of tuberculosis. He had a positive purified protein derivative test reaction. In our case, the diagnosis of ocular tuberculosis was presumptive and depended upon indirect evidence. The patient was started on anti-tuberculosis therapy with three drugs, which were continued for 12 months, with complete healing of the ocular lesions, including a marked improvement in the gait of the patient. Tuberculosis remains one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries.

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Hepatitis A (HAV) infection, which is the most common form of hepatitis in the paediatric age group and which sometimes has a fulminant course, is endemic in Turkey, constituting one of the country's important health problems. Pleural effusion also represents a rare benign complication of acute HAV infections. We describe here a case of Hepatitis A who developed pleural effusion.

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Ectopic parathyroid adenomas are the cause of approximately one in four cases of primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). Most ectopic parathyroid adenomas are located adjacent to the upper thymus gland and can be resected with a collar incision. In rare cases, however, adenomas located in the chest require a transsternalor transthoracic approach. Due to the high rate of morbidity with a sternotomy or thoracotomy, minimally invasive methods such as video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) or video-assisted mediastinoscopic surgery (VAMS) are becoming increasingly popular. We present two cases with primary hyperparathyroidism due to mediastinal ectopic parathyroid adenoma that were successfully treated by VATS approach.

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An 80-year-old woman presented with progressive shortness of breath. There was no history of pulmonary or cardiac disease. Results of a physical examination were normal. She had significant oxygen desaturation while she was in an upright position. Admission to the hospital for workup followed, and evaluation included tilt-table transesophageal echocardiogram and cardiac catheterization. A massive right-to-left shunt through a patent foramen ovale was detected, and surgical intervention resulted in dramatic improvement of symptoms. In this patient, it seems that the syndrome of platypnea-orthodeoxia was related to aortic elongation, allowing significant right-to-left shunt.

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