The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 51, 110-112, Copyright © 1991 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Rupture of a benign mediastinal teratoma into the right pleural cavity
T Hiraiwa, T Hayashi, M Kaneda, T Sakai, S Namikawa, M Kusagawa and I Kusano
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Mie University School of Medicine, Tsu, Japan.
A 27-year-old woman with a ruptured mediastinal cystic teratoma had high
levels of amylase and carcinoembryonic antigen in cystic fluid. The
activity of the amylase is thought to be the most likely cause of the
rupture. High levels of carcinoembryonic antigen in pleural fluid are not
necessarily indicative of a malignant lesion but may suggest the presence
of a ruptured teratoma in patients with mediastinal tumors.