[Endosonographically directed transesophageal fine needle aspiration in diagnosis of mediastinal para-esophageal space-occupying processes]

Abstract

Endoscopic ultrasonography with high-frequency ultrasonic beams allows detailed study of the gastrointestinal wall structures and the surrounding Tissues. Moreover most echoendoscopes carry a biopsy channel for biopsy or cytologic puncture guided by endoscopic ultrasonography. We present a patient with a tumor in the posterior mediastinum in whom conventional diagnostic techniques failed to obtain speciments for cytologic evaluation. Transesophageal fine needle aspiration guided by endoscopic ultrasonography confirmed the diagnosis of lung cancer consisting of adeno and small cells in this patient. Transesophageal fine needle puncture guided by endoscopic ultrasonography might become a valuable aid for the diagnosis of tumor masses in the posterior mediastinum.