Supraclavicular approach without thoracotomy for posterior mediastinal tumor.

Using a right-sided supraclavicular approach, we operated on a 15-year-old girl with a posterior mediastinal neurogenic tumor and von Recklinghausen's disease. The encapsulated 95 x 65 x 40 mm neurofibroma was removed safely and completely without thoracotomy. No peripheral neurologic defect such as Horner's syndrome, paralysis of accessory nerve, or palsy of the right upper extremity was observed after operation. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged on the third postoperative day with no symptoms. Today, various adaptations of video-assisted thoracic surgery are frequently utilized for many lesions. However, more direct, safer, and less invasive approaches should be selected based on local anatomy, such as the supraclavicular approach without thoracotomy that we utilized.