Introduction:

The mediastinum, located in the center of the chest contains organs and tissues of vital importance and it requires precise surgical gestures for the solution of what is concerned. The objective of the study is to present the epidemiology of the Mediastinal Masses and different modalities of treatment indicated according to the diagnosis of the patient. Design, place and participants: All patients over the age of 13 with a diagnosis of mass mediastinal evaluated during the period from November 2002 to October 2015 were admitted. Demographic variables, anatomic location, clinical and pathological diagnosis and surgical treatment modalities were included.

Results:

A total of 844 patients with thoracic surgical pathology was operated of which 65 (7.7%) patients had diagnosis of mediastinal mass; being the most frequent diagnoses, the cells germinal tumors 15.38%, lymphomas 13.84%, Schwannoma 12.30% and tumors of the thymus gland 10.76%. Most affected mediastinal compartment was the anterosuperior in 63% of cases and exploratory thoracotomy, which includes all procedures of resection, was the procedure carried out mostly in the 50.76%.

Conclusions:

Mediastinal pathology represented 7% of the thoracic surgical procedures performed. The anterosuperior mediastinum was the most affected compartment prevailing diagnosis of teratoma and exploratory thoracotomy with resection of the mass prevailed over other surgical options.