Meigs' syndrome in an elderly woman with short of breath

The Meigs' syndrome is a rare syndrome defined as the triad of benign solid ovarian tumors, ascites, and pleural effusion, which resolve spontaneously and permanently after tumor resection. Lung collapse due to a large amount of pleural effusion is a common mechanism of death. It always requires surgical treatment. We report an 84-year-old woman with a large ovarian fibroma associated with Meigs' syndrome and short of breath. It is difficult to diagnose preoperatively and is usually misdiagnosed as an ovarian malignancy. Considering the patient's serious clinical condition and assuming that she had Meigs' syndrome with a large ovarian mass and possible lung collapse due to large amount of pleural effusion, we chose the most appropriate surgical treatment after pathologic examination, then enabled definitive diagnosis of the benign tumor and removed the huge ovarian fibroma. This resulted in a timely symptoms resolution, short hospitalization, and relatively low morbidity in elderly.