title: Transesophageal echocardiography-guided transvenous biopsy of a cardiac sarcoma.
abstract: Transvenous endomyocardial biopsy is a well established procedure to diagnose rejection after heart transplantation as well as to assess for other cardiomyopathic processes. However, it is rarely used to obtain samples of unidentified cardiac masses. We report a case of a primary cardiac sarcoma in which the histologic diagnosis was provided by transesophageal echocardiography-guided transvenous biopsy. This procedure is accurate and can avoid the potential risk of a diagnostic thoracotomy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Savoia
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liguori
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nahar
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marboe
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weinberger
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Di Tullio
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Homma
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000473:pathology; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006346:Heart Septum / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D013908:Thoracotomy; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional