title: Transesophageal echocardiographic recognition of infiltrative cardiac sarcoma mimicking mitral stenosis.
abstract: Primary cardiac sarcomas are very rare. Infiltrative cardiac tumors may be difficult to diagnose by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) only. Herein, we report a case of primary unclassified cardiac sarcoma with clinical and echocardiographic manifestations of mitral stenosis (MS). The tumor was not identified by TTE preoperatively because of its diffuse infiltration of the left atrial wall and both mitral leaflets without protruding mass, and was only discovered by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). This report alerts clinicians that TEE is a necessary adjunctive tool to facilitate the correct diagnosis in patients with obscure etiologies of mitral valve diseases especially when they will receive surgical intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Cheng-Han
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ting-Hsing
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: Liang-Miin
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Pao-Yen
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Wei-Chuan
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Jing-Jou
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Li-Jen
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology