Introduction:

Mediastinal neoplasms are rare tumors that may appear at any age, generally between the third and fifth decades of life, and incidentally discovered by a routine chest radiograph performed on asymptomatic patients.

Objective:

To characterize the patients operated on for mediastinal tumors according to selected surgical and evolutionary variables.

Methods:

An observational, descriptive and case series study was carried out with a sample of 37 patients hospitalized and operated on in the general surgery service at Saturnino Lora Teaching Provincial Hospital in Santiago de Cuba, with a diagnosis of mediastinal tumor, and during the years 2010 to 2017.

Results:

Sternotomy was the most widely used access route and complete exeresis was achieved in 31 patients. Malignant histological varieties prevailed (54.1%). There were only four relevant postoperative complications and two deaths.

Conclusion:

Malignant tumors predominated with a wide range of histological varieties identified, attributable to the characteristics of the affected organ. Selection of the access route into the thorax and the surgical procedure were conditioned by location and size of the tumor in the mediastine. The surgical outcomes were favorable, supported by the low number of complications and the level of mortality in the series.

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