title: Fetal cardiac rhabdomyoma: a sheep or a wolf?
abstract: Rhabdomyoma is the most common primary cardiac tumor identified in utero and in infancy. Usually it has a benign course, which has prompted an expectant approach to its management. We report herein the cases of three patients who presented prenatally with cardiac rhabdomyomas. Only one of them had a benign course. The other two patients provided recognizable characteristics of rhabdomyomas with an unfavorable course and demonstrated that fetal rhabdomyomas can have a fatal outcome.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
authors: Avihu Z
authors: AZ
authors: Gazit
authors: Gautam K
authors: GK
authors: Singh
authors: Joseph
authors: J
authors: Shumway
authors: Mark C
authors: MC
authors: Johnson
authors: Achiau
authors: A
authors: Ludomirsky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D012207:Rhabdomyoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography