Mini-mediastinotomy under local anesthesia for biopsy of anterior mediastinal masses with airway compression.

Introduction: Management strategies for anterior mediastinal masses (AMMs) depend strongly on the histopathological diagnosis. The manifestations of these masses sometimes are an emergency because of large airway or great vessel compression which make general anesthesia challenging and hazardous and many authors have emphasized the dangers of general anesthesia in such patients.

Methods: This prospective study carried on 23 patients with AMMs and large airway or vessel compression via mini-mediastinotomy under local anesthesia for taking histological biopsy.