title: Transesophageal echocardiography for detection of a papillary fibroelastoma of the aortic valve.
abstract: Papillary fibroelastoma (PF) is a benign cardiac tumor, typically attached to the cardiac valves. It is usually found incidentally at autopsy or surgery. It is rarely symptomatic, but can cause myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction and systemic embolism, even in young patients, and sometimes results in sudden death. We report on a case of a PF attached to the nodulus arantii of the left coronary cusp in a 56-year-old woman. She was referred to our institution due to a non ST-elevation myocardial infarction diagnosed by troponin positive-test. No other embolic source was identified. Diagnosis was obtained by two-dimensional echocardiography and confirmed by transesophageal echocardiography. After complete surgical removal of the tumor, we reconstructed the left coronary cusp with autologous pericardium. The histology revealed the diagnosis of a PF. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography confirmed complete restoration of aortic valve cusp coaptation. The clinical course was uneventful.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Rhoen Klinikum, Bad Neustadt, Germany. KChryssagis@t-online.de
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chryssagis
authors.forename: Aris
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liangos
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Westhof
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Batz
authors.forename: Anno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diegeler
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006222:Hamartoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010212:Papilloma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging