Background: Histopathologic structure of primary mediastinal masses can be very different. The aim of this study was to evaluate surgical results of these masses.

Methods: Sixty-four patients with mediastinal masses, who underwent treatment in our department between 1990 and 1998, were investigated. Fifty of these patients were male and 14 were female. The ages ranged from 17 to 76 years. Cough (32.8%), chest pain (31.2%), dyspnea (29.6%) were common symptoms. Seventeen patients were asymptomatic. The anterior mediastinum was the most commonly involved side of mass (53.1%), followed by the posterior mediastinum (26.5%), and the middle mediastinum (20.3%). Thymic lesions constituted 25% of the masses and were the most frequent diagnosis.

Results: Forty (62.5%) of all patients had benign and 24 had maligned. The operative mortality rate was 3.1. There was no mortality among patients with benign lesion, and two early deaths among patients with malignancy.

Conclusions: Inspite of most lesions in mediastinum are benign, they must be evaluated as malignancy. Early surgical intervention and complete resection, if it is necessary adjuvant therapy, are performed in mediastinal masse.

Keywords : Mediastinum, neoplasm, cyst.