Diffuse hamartoma of the upper lobe in an infant; report of successful surgical removal.

Abstract

THE TERM hamartoma has been present in the literature since 1904. It denotes an abnormal mixing of the normal elements of an organ. It has been postulated that these tumors arise from the cartilage of the bronchial rings or have their origin in an embryonal anlage. The tumor has been reported as being present in various organs, however, the advance of thoracic surgery, and the vigorous attack on pulmonary carcinoma has altered the impression that this is a "rare" pulmonary lesion to that of an "unusual" one. Ordinarily, hamartomas of the lung are well-circumscribed lesions that have to be distinguished from carcinoma of the lung, bronchial adenoma, hemangioma, granuloma, bronchogenic cyst, pulmonary abscess, and tuberculosis. This tumor is usually thought of as one of the "coin" lesions, and its main importance lies in the difficulty in trying to differentiate it from a malignant tumor through x-ray and clinical studies. The