title: Blood cyst of the mitral valve apparatus in a woman with a history of orthotopic liver transplantation.
abstract: Blood cysts within the heart are rare findings in adults. We describe a case of a woman with a history of orthotopic liver transplantation who presented for an echocardiogram to evaluate a potential source of cerebrovascular embolism. A cystic mass attached to the submitral valve apparatus was identified by transthoracic and confirmed by transesophageal echocardiography. Surgical exploration and pathologic examination confirmed the mass to be a blood cyst attached to the chordal apparatus of the posterior papillary muscle. This case report highlights the use of echocardiography in diagnosing intracardiac blood cysts.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, USA. jkuvin@tufts-nemc.org
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuvin
authors.forename: Pabitra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rastegar
authors.forename: Robert N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Salomon
authors.forename: Natesa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pandian
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Denofrio
mesh_terms: D001769:Blood; D003560:Cysts / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D020766:Intracranial Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D010210:Papillary Muscles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery