title: Cardiac metastasis of melanoma presenting as acute aortic occlusion.
abstract: Cardiac diseases are the most common cause of acute arterial emboli, however, cardiac tumors are not as frequent. Cardiac metastases from melanoma are usually silent, and rarely cause symptoms. Only a few reports are found in the literature of metastatic melanoma, causing arterial emboli. Here, we report a case of a cardiac metastasis of melanoma cancer that presented preoperative as arterial emboli. The gross appearance of the emboli already suggested the presence of a cardiac tumor. In selected patients who have a solitary intracardiac melanoma, surgical resection can provide relief from clinical symptoms and minimize potential cardiac sequelae of the tumor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Surgery, Federal University of São Paulo, Rua Borges Lagoa, 754, São Paulo, SP, 04038-001, Brazil, vtvascon@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Vladimir Tonello
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: de Vasconcelos
authors.forename: Victor Eduardo
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Arias
authors.forename: Susume
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikeda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D004617:Embolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology*