J Cardiovasc Ultrasound.  2010 Jun;18(2):58-61. 10.4250/jcu.2010.18.2.58.

A Case of a Right Atrial and Inferior Vena Caval Thrombus Resembling a Right Atrial Myxoma

Affiliations
  • 1Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ulsan Hospital, Ulsan, Korea.
  • 2Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.

Abstract

A right atrial and inferior vena caval thrombus in a structurally normal heart is a very rare condition. We report a case of such a thrombus in a 66-year-old woman. She was admitted to our hospital with recent onset dyspnea. Based on echocardiography, we suspected that she had myxoma. We performed an excision of a mass, which was found, by pathologic examination, to be an organized mural thrombus.

Keyword

Thrombi; Myxoma; Right atrium; Inferior vena cava

MeSH Terms

Aged
Dyspnea
Echocardiography
Female
Heart
Heart Atria
Humans
Myxoma
Thrombosis
Vena Cava, Inferior

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Subcostal view of an echocardiogram shows a normal inferior vena cava and normal right atrium structures four years ago.

  • Fig. 2 Subcostal view of an echocardiogram shows two round masses having echolucent areas in the right atrium and dilated inferior vena cava (A). A transesophageal echocardiogram shows a mass with a stalk in the lower part of the right atrium (B).

  • Fig. 3 A chest computed tomogram reveals two well-defined masses in the right atrium and inferior vena cava (arrows).

  • Fig. 4 Smooth-surfaced round masses were observed.

  • Fig. 5 The thrombus, which consists of platelets and fibrin with entrapped blood cells, is surrounded by fibrous tissue (arrow) (×100) (A). Arborizing vessels and fibroblasts are seen at the edge of the thrombus (arrow) (×400) (B).


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