Extramedullary hematopoiesis simulating posterior mediastinal tumors

A 26‐yr-old female with persistent cough

“…Noninvasive studies, including chest roentgenograms, CT and magnetic resonance imaging, can establish the EMH in most cases [10,11,18]. Bone marrow scanning with TC-99M sulfur colloid is a convenient noninvasive method of further establishing the diagnosis [2,8,19].…”

Video-assisted thoracic surgery and extramedullary haematopoiesis

“…In our experience, fine-needle aspiration often provides insufficient material for confirmatory cytological examination and may even be misleading [2,5]. A percutaneous biopsy approach can be technically difficult due to the specific location of the mass.…”

Right Hilar Mass in a Patient with β-Thalassemia major

“…EH most frequently involves the liver, spleen and lymph nodes, but it is occasionally found in such tissues as the adrenal gland, kidney, thymus, peripheral nerves, breast, retroperitoneum and epididymis [1,3]. Loh et al [4] found 89 cases of IEH that had been reported in the literature up to 1996.…”

“…They are usually multiple and bilateral. Destruction of adjacent ribs and vertebrae is rarely seen [4,5]. Macroscopically, extramedullary hematopoietic foci are seen as soft, deep-red masses which resemble splenic tissue on the cut surface.…”

“…In atypical cases with symptoms of compression or bone ero- sion, transthoracic biopsy and open biopsy are recommended. But it should be noted that both procedures can cause life-threatening hemorrhage [4]. Because of this complication, noninvasive methods including CT scans, magnetic resonance images and nuclear scans should be considered unless there are no symptoms of compression [1].…”