CTICasesMediastinal Cyst with Milk of Calcium
▶ Watch on YouTube — age-restricted, cannot embed here
Imaging findings
An incidental mass was found in the lower mediastinum, in a periaortic location, with margins lifting off the pleura. The mass featured a dense calcium rim and contained a "milk of calcium" substance that had pooled inferiorly. There was also a small amount of fat. The lesion was not associated with esophageal or bone abnormalities and was not typical for a bronchogenic cyst.
Key takeaways
This is a benign, "don't touch" lesion, most likely representing a hemorrhagic cyst (possibly pericardial) that subsequently calcified and developed a milk-of-calcium component. The pooling of calcium suggests a fluid-filled lesion. It's important to differentiate such findings from other mediastinal masses like ganglioneuromas (which shouldn't calcify). A PET scan is cautioned against due to potential attenuation correction artifacts caused by dense calcium.
AI-assisted summary — may contain errors. Verify against the source video. Learn more
More from this webinar
- Congenital Coronary Anomalies with Origin from All Three Aortic CuspsCongenital
- Intramyocardial Lipoma Detected by Tissue MappingNeoplastic
- Extensive Left Atrial Thrombus Diagnosed with Dual-Energy CTVascular
- Adenocarcinoma of the Lung with Adrenal MetastasisNeoplastic
- Metastatic Meningioma to the LungNeoplastic
- Coexisting Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis and Growing Pulmonary HamartomaNeoplastic
- Acute Onset Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis in an Elderly SmokerNeoplastic
- Chronic Pulmonary Thromboembolism Mimicking SarcomaVascular
See all cases from January 29, 2016 →
Related Metabolic cases
- Extramedullary Hematopoiesis in Thalassemia
- Metastatic Pulmonary Calcification
- Diffuse Pulmonary Extramedullary Hematopoiesis in Myelofibrosis
- Beta-Thalassemia with Extramedullary Hematopoiesis and Diffuse Marrow Expansion
- Pleural Extramedullary Hematopoiesis in Myelofibrosis
- Pulmonary Extramedullary Hematopoiesis in Myelofibrosis