Rare right ventricular myxoma detected incidentally on a FAST examination

J Clin Ultrasound. 2005 Mar-Apr;33(3):143-5. doi: 10.1002/jcu.20103.

Abstract

A young man underwent Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST) scan for blunt abdominal trauma. An incidental finding on the pericardial view was the presence of a tumor in the right ventricle. Detailed cardiac imaging and subsequent excision revealed the presence of a myxoma. The patient had no obvious cardiac symptoms, but the awareness and experience of the examiner during the FAST examination detected this rare heart tumor at a latent stage, preventing serious, irreversible complications. This case demonstrates the potential importance of looking above the diaphragm during routine abdominal sonography, especially in patients who are critically ill.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Echocardiography, Transesophageal / methods*
  • Heart Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Heart Neoplasms / pathology
  • Heart Ventricles / diagnostic imaging*
  • Heart Ventricles / pathology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Myxoma / diagnostic imaging*
  • Myxoma / pathology
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed