Giant fibromyxoma of the parietal pleura

pleura. A 23-year-old Nigerian man with a giant (8&5 kg) benign intrathoracic fibromyxoma presented in respiratory distress with what looked clinically and radiologically like a massive left-sided pleural effusion. The correct preoperative diagnosis was suggested by an almost 'dry tap ' together with a solid resistance to the aspiring needle at chest aspiration. Complete removal was successfully accomplished through an extended left thoracotomy. The pathology, clinical features, and treatment of localised pleural fibromas are briefly discussed. Primary pleural neoplasms are exceedingly rare. The tumours are now widely regarded as meso-theliomas of which two varieties are recognised-a 'diffuse malignant ' and a 'localised fibrous' mesothelioma (Clagett et al., 1952). Owing to earlier confusion as to their origin, the localised fibrous variety has been previously described by a multiplicity of names, including intrathoracic fibroma, pleural fibroma, benign localised meso-thelioma, and solitary localised mesothelioma. We will use the term intrathoracic fibroma. A common, though not widely recognised, feature of localised fibrous intrathoracic fibromas is their tendency to recur after resectio