title: Left atrial appendage mass: is it always a thrombus?
abstract: Myxoma is the most common benign tumor of the heart, but it is very rare for it to originate from the left atrial appendage. Distinguishing between a mass, a thrombus, and a tumor in the body of the left atrium with preoperative transthoracic or transesophageal echocardiography is very difficult, even more so in patients with mitral valve disease and chronic atrial fibrillation. A 50-year-old male patient was admitted for surgery with the diagnosis of mitral stenosis and chronic atrial fibrillation. Transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated a mass attached to the wall of the left atrial appendage. Histopathological examination of the mass showed an image compatible with a myxoma. We hereby describe a case of a left atrial appendage myxoma mimicking a left atrial appendage thrombus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Gulhane School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hikmet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sahratov
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Gulhane School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Adem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guler
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Gulhane School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurkluoglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Etimesgut Military Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fahri Gurkan
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Yesil
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Gulhane School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tavlasoglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Gulhane School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Faruk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cingoz
keywords: left atrial appendage; mitral valve; myxoma