Mature Teratoma of the Posterior Mediastinum: A Case Report

Mature teratomas are the most common type of mediastinal germ cell tumors. They typically occur in young adults (15 to 35 years) and 95% of these teratomas occur in the anterior mediastinum. Herein, we report a case of a huge mediastinal teratoma in a 16-year-old boy who presented with a history of chest pain, cough, exertional dyspnea, and fever. Chest X-ray and spirals computed tomography (CT) revealed a bulky mass of 20cmx15cm in the right side of the, posterior mediastinum. The operative finding was a large cystic mass in the posterior mediastinum adherent to the neighbor organs. The cyst was filled with sebum, hair and calcifiedl materials. The resected tumor was in the posterior mediastinum, although most of these tumors occurs in the anterior mediastinum. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented report in Iran.