Large endobronchial hamartoma successfully resected by snare through flexible bronchoscopy

Abstract

Benign pulmonary tumors are rare, composing less than 1% of pulmonary tumors; of these, hamartomas are the most common. Endobronchial hamartomas are rarer still, composing 1.4% of all pulmonary hamartomas. As therapeutic bronchoscopy has improved, it has replaced conventional operations for resection of endobronchial benign tumors, although there are limitations to the procedure in the case of large tumors causing complete obstruction. The present report describes a case of a large endobronchial hamartoma inducing total lung atelectasis, which was successfully resected using an electrosurgical snare through flexible bronchoscopy. This could be a useful option in select endobronchial tumors.