Intracardiac Teratoma in an Infant: Report of a New Case and Literature Review

Abstract

Primitive intracardiac tumours are rare, especially in childhood, and are often discovered on autopsy. The intracardiac teratoma is the rarest intracardiac tumours of childhood. Herein, we report the case of an 11-month-old infant, which featured recurrent bronchoalveolitis since the age of 3 months, with a thoracic deformation. Physical examination did found discrete respiratory distress signs. Chest radiography showed large mediastinal enlargement. The computed tomography showed a solid cystic-cloisonned mass with fat and central calcification highly suggestive of an intracardiac teratoma. A radical surgical excision was made and the histological examination found a well circumscribed tumour containing elements of the three germ layers confirming the diagnosis of mature well-differentiated teratoma, with no need of immunohistochemical support.

Mature Triphyllic Cystic Teratoma of the Posterior Mediastinum in a Fetus: A Case Report and Literature Review

“…Mediastinal teratomas are more commonly extracardiac than intracardiac: primitive intracardiac teratomas are extremely rare; reports of a dozen cases can be found in the literature, and they are said to represent approximately 1–5% of all pediatric neoplasms. Intracardiac location is especially unusual [ 20 ].…”

Anesthetic management of a neonate with an intrapericardial teratoma: a case report

“…During fetal life, manifestations of a cardiac tumor can include congestive heart failure, hydrops, arrhythmias, and possible stillbirth. In postnatal life, cardiac tumors may exert mass effect on adjacent structures leading to inflow or outflow tract obstruction, myocardial dysfunction, respiratory distress, arrhythmias, and sudden death 3,5 . Surgical resection is the treatment of choice as it can definitively alleviate mass effect exerted by the tumor.…”

“…In postnatal life, cardiac tumors may exert mass effect on adjacent structures leading to inflow or outflow tract obstruction, myocardial dysfunction, respiratory distress, arrhythmias, and sudden death. 3,5 Surgical resection is the treatment of choice as it can definitively alleviate mass effect exerted by the tumor. Our current anesthetic experience is predominately based on case reports.…”