Iatrogenic thoracic loose body

Abstract

A 59-year-old woman with a 5-year history of autologous fat grafting for breast augmentation visited our outpatient department in December 2023 for the evaluation of incidentally detected breast masses during routine health screening (figure 1A). The patient denied any respiratory or systemic symptoms. Chest CT revealed bilateral round-shaped breast masses with fat density and peripheral calcification, which was further verified by the breast ultrasound examination (figure 1B,C). In addition, the location and imaging features of the breast masses were consistent during the follow-up period (figure 1B,C). Another mass (2.5 cm×2.0 cm) with identical radiographic features was also identified in the anterior mediastinum region (figure 1D). Given the absence of symptoms and the painless nature of the breast masses, annual follow-up was recommended. However, during the most recent evaluation, the mediastinal mass had completely disappeared (figure 2A), while a morphologically comparable round mass emerged in the thoracic cavity (figure 2B). Three-dimensional reconstruction analysis further demonstrated that the thoracic mass had shifted from the anterior mediastinum region (figure 2C) to the oblique fissure (figure 2D), supporting passive translocation rather than de novo growth. Based on clinical history and imaging characteristics, the final diagnosis was iatrogenic thoracic loose body. Figure 1 Diagnosis of the thoracic loose body. (A) Schematic illustration of the overall study design. …