Cardiac failure due to a giant desmoid tumour of the posterior mediastinum

We report a rare case of a giant desmoid tumour responsible for cardiac and respiratory failure. Complete removal was decided upon, despite an initial failure in another centre because of symptom severity. In such cases, wide local resection remains the best therapeutic approach, but the risk of local recurrence is high. Literature review confirms the exceptional presentation and the benefit of aggressive surgery. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.