I was reviewing my emails late in the day when I found a message flagged “Important” in the subject line. It was from Kelsey, one of our hospital’s new pediatric surgeons. “Consulted regarding a 16-month-old with a middle mediastinal mass,” her message read. “Compression of trachea. Would love your thoughts.”
The mass Kelsey referred to in her email was in an area where a lot of things can go wrong, what we call the mediastinum—the middle of the chest between the lungs, where several important organs, such as the heart, trachea, and esophagus, reside.
As a thoracic surgeon, I specialize in operating on organs in this area and often review cases with colleagues.
I responded that I’d be happy to speak with her, and in less than 15 minutes she was tapping on my door. Kelsey was obviously very concerned about this one, so I quickly pulled the CT scan of the mass up on the computer as she relayed the details of the case. The patient was a 16-month-old boy who was developing normally but had recently been diagnosed with asthma.
