Mediastinal Myofibroblastic Inflammatory Tumor Compressing the Airway: An Unusual Cause of Dyspnea in a 12-Year-Old

A healthy 12-year-old presented with wheezing and progressive dyspnea over a 10-month period. He had several general physician consultations and emergency visits during this time and was treated as an asthma exacerbation with no clinical response. He was referred to the pediatric pulmonologist and a tracheal deviation in his previous two chest X-rays was noted, therefore further studies were performed. A severe extrinsic tracheal compression due to a mediastinal mass was documented. He was taken into surgery where a partial resection of the tumor was made. The biopsy of the tumor reported an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT), a rare tumor with an atypical presentation, which made this case a diagnostic challenge.