-Background: Intrathoracic meningocele is a rare pathology, almost always associated with neurofibromatosis type I and with a few cases related in the literature. In the majority of cases cysts are small or asymptomatic, and the surgery is indicated when big or symptomatic cysts are present. We report a case of giant intrathoracic cysts surgically extirpated through out thoracotomy. Case: A 59-year-old male with familiar Von Recklinghausen´s disease which developed thoracic radicular pain after a fall. On examination he presented some difficulty in walking fast and dyspneia on small efforts. The chest plain x-ray showed the presence of 3 huge left side intrathoracic cysts (10 to 15cm). The patient was submitted to a surgical treatment and complete extirpation of the cysts was performed through a left side thoracotomy. During the surgery a fourth smaller cyst was detected and also extirpated. Evolution was uneventful and the patient remains well in these last 12 years. This finding of intrathoracic cysts related to neurofibromatosis type I is rare and is probably unique in the literature the presence of 4 huge cysts in one side of the thorax.KEY WORDS: intrathoracic meningocele, neurofibromatosis type I.
Meningoceles intratorácicas gigantes associadas a neurofibromatose tipo I: relato de casoRESUMO -Meningocele intratorácica é patologia rara e, quando presente, está quase sempre associada a neurofibromatose tipo I. Há poucos casos descritos na literatura e em sua maioria destes são de cistos pequenos ou assintomáticos, sendo a cirurgia indicada quando são grandes ou sintomáticos. Relatamos o caso de um homem de 59 anos com a doença de Von Recklinghausen familiar, com cistos gigantes extirpados cirurgicamente através de toracotomia. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: meningocele intratorácica, neurofibromatose tipo I.