MEDIASTINAL MASS SIMULATING ENLARGED HEART, INTRACARDIAC CATHETERIZATION IN DIAGNOSIS

Abstract

A case is presented in which a mediastinal mass simulated an enlarged heart. In making the diagnosis a number of procedures were used, including the introduction into the heart via the median basilic vein of a radio opaque catheter (No. 8 urethral) as a probe. This procedure was successful in outlining a bulge in the right auricle, presumably produced by an impinging mass. The unique information offered was helpful in leading to the removal of a dermoid cyst attached above the right auricle. Fluoroscopy following artificial pneumothorax was more successful than intracardiac catheterization in revealing the mass as separate from the heart.