Contributed by David Krisky, MD, PhD and Sheldon Bastacky, MD
Published on line in January 2000
The patient is a 55 y.o. woman who presented with complaints of chest and back pain. She had recently begun a new job that required heavy lifting. A V/Q scan revealed a left lung ventilation defect. Chest X-ray displayed a left chest mass. A CT scan of the chest localized the lesion to the left chest wall (Image 01). A needle biopsy of the mass was obtained and diagnosed as "fibrous tumor of benign appearance". The patient underwent a left thorascopy and resection of the pleural mass.