Mitral valve myxomas: an unusual entity.
Primary tumours of the heart are uncommon entities, cardiac myxomas being the most frequent. However, mitral valve myxomas are exceptionally rare. In the last 12 years, there have been 25 myxomas diagnosed at our institution, with only two of them originating from the mitral valve. Both patients were female, the first, 25, and the second, 72 years old. The younger patient was very symptomatic with a large mass, 4 cm long, which involved both leaflets causing significant obstruction to the left ventricular inflow. The second one had a smaller mass located at the atrial side of the posterior leaflet that only produced some flow divergence. Neither of them had constitutional nor embolic symptoms. Both patients were submitted to emergent surgical resection that in the first case involved the mitral valve and replacement with mechanical prosthesis. The macroscopic appearance of these tumours suggested a malignant aetiology which may represent somewhat different features of the myxomas when originating from the cardiac valves. Both patients are well reflecting the good prognosis of this illness after resection, although the younger patient was re-operated because of prosthetic valve obstruction and suspicion of recurrence that was not confirmed. Because of the illustrative images and different presentations, we found it interesting to report and discuss them together.
Oliveira
Ricardo Gil
RG
Echocardiography Laboratory, Cardiology Department, Santa Marta Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal. ricardogil@netcabo.pt
Branco
Luísa
L
Dias
Liliana
L
Timóteo
Ana Teresa
AT
Patrício
Lino
L
Agapito
Ana
A
Robalo
Filipe
F
Mendes
João
J
Pinto
Eugénia
E
Ferreira
Rui Cruz
RC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000601:surgery*; D009232:Myxoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D014463:Ultrasonography