BODY COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY AND THE THYMUS

Preoperative body computerized tomography (CT) should be of value in depicting the size, extent, and location(s) of the thymus in myasthenic patients undergoing thymectomy. To date, we have been unable to visualize the thymus in three patients with myasthenia gravis using body CT. However, in two nonmyasthenic patients, large thymomas were clearly delineated. Although application of this technique currently appears limited by the size, location, and density of the thymus and the resolution of the scanners, we feel that CT of the mediastinum is an indicated procedure in the evaluation of the patient before thymectomy, especially in those myasthenic patients with a high risk of thymoma. © 1979, American Medical Association. All rights reserved.