Endoscopic Removal of a Bronchial Lipoma with the Neodymium-YAG Laser

A 56-year-old man presented with right middle and lower lobe pneumonia with empyema. Bronchoscopy and endobronchial biopsy revealed a lipoma in the bronchus intermedius. Removal of the lipoma was achieved with the Neodymium-Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet (Nd:YAG) laser through a fiberoptic bronchoscope. The present case represents the first report of endobronchial lipoma with the Nd:YAG laser in the United States.