Tricuspid valve obstruction and right heart failure due to a giant right atrial myxoma arising from the superior vena cava

Zheng-Hua Xiao,Jia Hu,Da Zhu,Er-Yong Zhang,Ying-Kang Shi

doi:10.1186/1749-8090-8-200

Abstract

Myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumors. The cardiac myxomas are mostly diagnosed within the atria, and only a few such tumors are reported to have arisen from atrioventricular valves or pulmonary vessels. The authors here present a case of 59-year-old Chinese woman who was hospitalized for exacerbating symptoms of tricuspid stenosis and right heart failure. Echocardiography revealed a giant right atrial myxoma arising from an extremely rare site, the anterior wall of the superior vena cava. With the aid of transesophageal echocardiography, the surgical resection was performed successfully with the patient achieving complete recovery.

Highlights

Primary cardiac tumor represents a rare subgroup of malignancies in humans with an incidence between 0.0017 and 0.29 percent in autopsy series performed in nonselected populations [1,2]
The majority of cardiac myxomas (CMs) are histologically benign, due to their strategic location and nature, they may lead to serious consequences for morbidity and mortality of affected patients
As reported by previous studies, about 15-28% of CMs are diagnosed in the right atrium, 8% in the right and 3-4% in the left ventricle, and a small proportion of CMs are biatrial [1,2,6,7]

Summary

Background

Primary cardiac tumor represents a rare subgroup of malignancies in humans with an incidence between 0.0017 and 0.29 percent in autopsy series performed in nonselected populations [1,2]. Case presentation A 59-year-old Chinese woman with a 10-year history of exertional dyspnea and palpitations was hospitalized for exacerbating symptoms of right heart failure from one month prior to admission. On physical examination, her pulse rate was 99 beats per minute, and blood pressure was 111/80 mmHg. On physical examination, her pulse rate was 99 beats per minute, and blood pressure was 111/80 mmHg She had moderate bilateral pitting leg edema, a distended jugular vein and mild dilatation of superficial neck and facial veins. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) showed normal biventricular function without any residual myxoma and significant tricuspid regurgitation, and the patient had an uneventful recovery and was discharged home at 7 days after surgery

Discussion

Findings

Conclusions

Reynen K