Right atrial papillary fibroelastoma arising from the Chiari network detected by echocardiography: a case report and literature review

Abstract

Purpose: To improve our understanding of cardiac papillary fibroelastomaand provide evidence for its treatment and prognosis.

Materials and methods: We report a 54-year-old Chinese male who was hospitalized for a 14-day headache with a previous vertebral aneurysm history. A right atrial mass arising from the Chiari network was detected by echocardiography and complete tumor resection was performed finally. Pathologic findings confirmed the diagnosis of cardiac papillary fibroelastoma. The recovery of the patient was uneventful and follow-up echocardiographic examination revealed no recurrence of the tumor.

Results: Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a mobile, sessile mass in the right atrium without obstructing the orifice of the tricuspid valve. The subsequent transesophageal echocardiography confirmed the presence of a 1.56cm × 1.24cm mobile, sessile, irregular mass arising from the Chiari network (Fig. 1) and showed no evidence of patent foramen ovale.

Conclusions: Early recognition and surgical excision is essential for patients with cardiac papillary fibroelastoma.

Keywords: Cardiac tumor; Chiari network; Papillary fibroelastoma.