Unusual place… unusual number

Abstract

Cardiac papillary fibroelastoma is a rare, benign cardiac tumor. It often arises from the valvular endocardium and is usually solitary. Nonvalvular location is rare and even more rare is the presentation as multiple masses. A 71‐year‐old female patient was referred for echocardiographic evaluation due to progressive fatigue. The presence of multiple left atrial masses was observed on echocardiographic evaluation. The patient was treated surgically for the prevention of embolic complications, and the histologic diagnosis of multiple nonvalvular papillary fibroelastoma was made. This case highlights the need to consider this unusual location and presentation for this type of tumor.

Diagnosis and survival analyses of patients with space-occupying cardiac lesions: a 10-year retrospective single-center study

“…Papillary fibroblastomas are also common primary benign cardiac tumors. These tumors often originate in the inner membrane of a heart valve, usually in isolation ( 25 ). The tumor surface is papillary with a short pedicle.…”

Left Atrial Fibroelastoma as a Cause of Stroke: A Case Report

“…Reviewing the English language literature reporting cases of left atrial fibroelastomas (Table 1), the most common origin of those tumors is the left atrial appendage (39.3%) and the left atrial ridge (36.3%). Only a single case of fibroelastoma originating from the lateral wall has been reported [6]. Transesophageal echocardiography has been recommended in suspected cases if routine transthoracic echocardiography fails to detect a tumor, as the sensitivity and specificity of the latter procedure decrease with tumors measuring less than 20 mm 3 [2].…”