Surgical treatment of an endobronchial lipoma obstructing the right upper bronchus: Imaging features with pathological correlation

Endobronchial lipomas are rare benign unusual tumors of the respiratory tract. We describe a 65-year-old Chinese man with a history of cough due to an endobronchial tumor. The endobronchial biopsy was not excisional and was unable to evaluate the whole tumor. Then the mass was successfully resected via a right lateral thoracotomy. The histopathological diagnosis confirmed a benign lipoma arising from the membranous trachea. His CT features and fiberoptic bronchoscopic findings are shown along with the pathological results. In describing the management of this case, we stress that the clinical treatment of such tumors should be individualized according to the characteristics of each patient and mass.