Donor transmitted left atrial myxoma 13 years after heart transplantation

Abstract

Left atrial cardiac myxomas are among the most common cardiac masses. However, occurrence of left atrial myxomas in post-transplant patients is very rare and often misdiagnosed as left atrial thrombus formation. We report the case of a 67-year old female, who was referred due to suspected left atrial thrombus but was found to have a pediculated mass at the suture line of the left atrium on cardiac MRI. After resection, the diagnosis myxoma was confirmed histologically and the donor origin of the myxoma was proven by tissue typing. Despite a rare entity, atrial myxomas may occur in post cardiac transplant patients and may therefore support the role of advanced imaging techniques in patients with suspected left atrial masses.