Resection of a left atrial hemangioma. Report of a case and overview of the literature on resected cardiac hemangiomas.

Abstract

We present the case of a 76-year-old woman who presented with dyspnea on exertion. Echocardiography revealed a mass located in the left atrium in proximity to the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve. The mass was successfully excised under cardiopulmonary bypass. Histopathologic analysis showed a capillary hemangioma. Twenty-five months after surgery, the patient remained asymptomatic, and her echocardiogram was normal. Herein, we discuss the histopathology and the clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of hemangiomas. We include a selected overview of the literature on surgically treated patients.