No abstract

Actinomyces meyeri is an uncommon cause of human actinomycosis. Here, we report a rare case of empyema caused by A. meyeri. A 49-year-old male presented with a history of 10 days of dyspnea and chest pain. A large amount of loculated pleural effusion was present on the right side and multiple lung nodules were documented on radiological studies. A chest tube was inserted and purulent pleural fluid was drained. A. meyeri was isolated in anaerobic cultures of the pleural fluid. The infection was alleviated in response to treatment with intravenous penicillin G (20 million IU daily) and oral amoxicillin (500 mg every 8 hours) for 4 months, demonstrating that short-term antibiotic treatment was effective.

No abstract

Hamartomas, which are classified as either chondromatous or leiomyomatous, are the most common benign tumors of the lung. However, multiple pulmonary chondromatous hamartomas are rare with less than 20 cases having been previously reported (1). These lesions have also been known to coexist with certain other diseases. The majority of such tumors are small and solitary (2). We present a case of a giant pulmonary chondromatous hamartoma with multiple satellite nodules in the adjacent lung and parietal pleura, which was followed for three years since it was originally discovered. Case ReportA 40-year-old woman presented with progressive dyspnea for one month. Three years before a pleural-based mass in the patient's left lung was discovered incidentally, but the patient ignored the recommendation for further evaluation of the lesion (Fig. 1A). Follow-up chest radiographs showed interval growth of the mass that occupied the left hemi-thorax from the diaphragm to the aortic arch and a newly developed pleural effusion (Fig. 1B).Contrast-enhanced CT (5-mm collimation) revealed a huge mass with peripherally thick linear calcifications, soft tissue densities, and ill-defined fat densities (HU: 40 50) (Fig. IC). A small amount of pleural effusion and an adjacent atelectasis of the left lower lobe were combined. MR imaging was performed to evaluate the resectability of the mass. A pre-enhanced axial T1-weighted image (TR/TE 158/6.2) showed well-defined heterogenous intermediate signal intensity (higher than that of skeletal muscle but lower than that of fat) of the mass without typical signal intensity representing the fat and the calcification (Fig. 1D). However, the calcification showed various signal intensities on MR images and a partial averaging effect could not be excluded. A contrast-en- Among lung tumors, multiple hamartomas are uncommon and multiple chondromatous hamartomas are extremely rare. In this report, we describe a patient with an interval growth of a giant chondromatous hamartoma with accompanying multiple satellite nodules in the adjacent lung and the parietal pleura. We also present the follow up chest radiograph, computed tomograph, magnetic resonance images and photographs of the operating field of the tumor with pathologic correlation.

It is expected that the stent graft will become an alternative method for treating aortic diseases or reducing the extent of surgery; therefore, thoracic endovascular aortic repair has widened its indications. However, it can have rare but serious complications such as paraplegia and retrograde type A aortic dissection. Here, we report a surgical repair of retrograde type A aortic dissection that was performed after thoracic endovascular aortic repair.