Minimally invasive, multi-disciplinary approach for surgical management of a mediastinal congenital bronchogenic cyst in a 6-month-old infant

We present a case of prenatal diagnosis of a mediastinal cyst by ultrasound, confirmed during infancy through computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A 6-month-old male infant was admitted to the hospital. A mid-mediastinal cyst was detected through a province-wide fetal ultrasonography screening program. During the infancy stage, the CT scan and the MRI confirmed the finding of a mediastinal cyst. Based on the findings on prenatal ultrasonography and postnatal imaging studies (CT, MRI), a benign mediastinal cyst was suspected. The cyst was below the tracheal carina, and the patient developed symptoms of respiratory distress. Owing to the enlargement trend of the cyst, the respiratory distress it has caused, and the anxiety it caused to the patient’s family, a multi-disciplinary conference reached the consensus that surgical resection is the treatment of choice and a carina-approach mediastinal lesion resection via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) was performed. The cyst was removed successfully. Although this report is of a single case and follow-up duration is not long enough, we nevertheless make the first move to improve the pattern to a feasible, reliable, and efficient one, which could be used to treat similar patients.