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Course: An Older Woman With a Mobile Right Atrial Mass

CME Credits: 1.00

Released: 2022-08-10

A woman in her 80s with a history of obesity, uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, and surgical resection of a breast neoplasm was hospitalized for asthenia. Her physical examination was unremarkable. An echocardiogram was obtained as part of the investigation. It revealed a 1.5 × 2-cm pedicled mass in the right atrium. The interatrial septum was intact, and a saline contrast study confirmed the absence of a shunt. The differential diagnosis included a cancer-associated thrombus, a metastatic tumor, a myxoma, and a papillary fibroelastoma. Flowerlike fronds were discretely apparent (, A). The patient underwent excision of the right atrial mass via midline sternotomy. A water bath examination revealed a sea anemone–like appearance (, B; ). The diagnosis of papillary fibroelastoma was confirmed on pathological analysis. Papillary fibroelastoma is a rare, primary, benign cardiac tumor typically occurring on left-sided valves. Surgical resection is indicated in most cases to prevent cardioembolic events.


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