Thoracoscopic resection of bilateral multiple superior mediastinal neurofibromas

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>The indications for surgical resection concerning multiple bilateral neurofibromas in the superior mediastinum remain controversial, because vascular injury or development of postoperative Horne syndrome are concerned.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Case presentation</jats:title> <jats:p>A 60-year-old woman presented with multiple nodules in her right neck and bilateral chest cavity tops which indicated neurofibromatosis. The thoracic masses grew slowly over 9 years, and she then underwent a 2-stage resection starting with the left to right side. Bilateral tumors were completely removed via video-assisted thoracic surgery. The patient’s postoperative course was uneventful, without postoperative Horner syndrome.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of multiple bilateral superior mediastinal neurofibromas resected from the pulmonary apices via thoracoscopy. We selected a minimally invasive pure video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery approach and enucleated some tumors to avoid nerve injury. This approach may be safe and useful for multiple neurofibromas in patients with neurofibromatosis.</jats:p> </jats:sec>