calcified granulomas

[moomom]

i have been seeking answers to some complex problems for the last 3-4 years. could someone tell me how important it is to investagate a calcified granuloma? all of the info i have been getting on-line says that at least a cat scan or mri be done, maybe a biopsy of my lung. the problem is my doctors say its nothing to worry about, nothing can be done, or its not important. they have only seen it on xray. it is 7cm in my lower right lung. this is on top of many other problems.blood work showed a poorly defined band of restricted protein mobility of the gamma globulins- ruled out monoclonal proteins. biopsy of skin nodules show possible sarcoidosis, lobular panniculitis or erythema induratum. any info would be great, thanks :cry:

[Dr. Yasser Mokhtar]

Dear Moomom,

If this calcified granuloma has not grown bigger over the last 3-4 years as evidenced on the regular follow-up chest x-rays (that i assume you have been having), then, personally, i think that there is no need to worry and there is no need for a ct scan, mri or lung biopsy. Regarding the possibilty of this being a malignant nodule, to reach a size of 7 cm and left untreated for 3-4 years, it would have caused lots of symptoms and problems if it was malignant, so most probably, this is just a benign granuloma.

Regarding your skin lesions and the lung nodule, as i mentioned earlier in one of the replies to one of your messages, that this is suspicious for sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis is usually diagnosed by clinical picture and confirmed by biopsy, sometimes a biopsy is not even needed if the clinical picture is typical. There are blood tests that could be done and may help in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis if this is suspected from your clinical presentation.

Thank you very much for using our website http://doctorslounge.com and i hope that this information helped.

Yasser Mokhtar, M.D.