An autopsy case of cerebral embolism caused by atrial myxoma]

We reported an autopsy case of a 14-year-old girl with cardiac myxoma, presenting sudden onset of consciousness disturbance and right hemiplegia while running in an 800 meter race. Though CT scan showed no abnormal findings, cerebral angiogram revealed an embolic stenosis of the left middle cerebral artery, and abdominal aortogram showed complete obstruction of the bilateral common iliac artery. Histological study of emboli taken from obstructed femoral arteries showed systemic embolization of the cardiac myxoma. She died three days after admission. Autopsy was performed. Myxoma tissue was not found, but its stalk was left in the left atrial septum. The brain was very edematous, and a myxoma emboli was found in the left middle cerebral artery. Systemic embolization of myxoma to spleen, kidneys, liver, pancreas, etc. was found histologically. Left atrial myxoma is a rare but potentially treatable cause of stroke, and should be included in the differential diagnosis of cerebral vascular disease, especially in young patients.     

A case of surgically treated left atrial myxoma following acute multiple embolism including cerebral embolism

The patient was a 59-year-old female who was admitted to the hospital due to acute pain of bilateral legs, a numbness of right hand and anarthria. Angiography of extremities revealed total occlusion of right ulnar artery, left radial artery and bilateral popliteal arteries. Brain MRI revealed multiple small infarctions. Echocardiography revealed a mass in the left atrium. She was diagnosed as multiple embolism including cerebral embolism caused by left atrial myxoma. Open heart surgery immediately after the attack is generally considered contraindicated due to problems of hemorrhagic infarction or brain edema. But, relapse of embolism may deteriorate the condition and miss the timing of surgery. Thus we performed removal of left atrial myxoma 4 days after the attack. The postoperative course was uneventful. This is a few report about open heart surgery immediately after the attack. We report about the indication and the optimal timing of open heart surgery following cerebral embolism.     

Infected left atrial myxoma; report of a case

We report a rare case of infected left atrial myxoma. A 69-year-old male was admitted to our hospital due to cerebral infarction accompanied by lower limb ischemia. Transesophageal echocardiography showed a mobile left atrial tumor. On the 16th hospital day, he sufferd from high fever and Klebsiella pneumoniae was positive by blood culture. We excised the left atrial tumor, preventing systemic embolism and progression of sepsis. Histological examination showed a typical myxoma and organized thrombus with Gram-positive bacterial colonies, which disagreed with those in blood culture. After he recovered from sepsis, the 3rd toe of the right foot was amputated and then right femoro-popliteal bypass was done because of failure of wound healing. He was discharged from the hospital on the 74th postoperative day in good condition.     

Early subarachnoid hemorrhage from a bacterial aneurysm of the middle cerebral artery bifurcation following cerebral infarction caused by a septic embolism: case report

A 38-year-old left-handed male, with a past history of ventricular septal defect, presented to our hospital with complaints of sudden onset of right hemiparesis and restlessness. Computed tomography (CT) showed a hypodense area in the left insular cortex and corona radiata. The symptoms worsened on the next day, and CT demonstrated a new hypodense area in the left temporal lobe. Echocardiography showed vegetation on the mitral valve, so the patient was treated with a high dose of antibiotics under a diagnosis of infective endocarditis. Although the course was uneventful, subarachnoid hemorrhage was observed on the 4th day, which was followed by hemorrhagic infarction. Cerebral angiography revealed an aneurysm of the bifurcation of the middle cerebral artery and occlusion of the superior trunk of the M2 portion. T he aneurysmwas successfully obliterated, and histological examinationestablished the diagnosis of a bacterial aneurysm caused by septic embolism. Septic embolism originating from infectious endocarditis is likely to be followed by acute hemodynamic changes and fatal events. Therefore, the possibility of bacterial aneurysm should be considered immediately in patients with neurological deficits caused by septic embolism.     

Surgical resection of left atrial myxoma presenting with acute multiple hemorrhagic cerebral infarctions: a case report

Brain ischemia resulting from left atrial myxoma embolization has been well documented. In contrast, the link between the development of intracerebral hemorrhage and myxoma in these patients has little coverage in the literature. The main theory describing this relationship stems from the fact that cardiac myxoma cells metastasize to the brain's vessels, causing destruction of the arterial wall with subsequent formation of fusiform aneurysm and further intracranial bleeding. It is assumed that when a diagnosis of left atrial myxoma with neurologic manifestations is made, surgical resection should be performed without delay to prevent repeated tumor embolization; however, systemic anticoagulation treatment during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass is not recommended immediately after intracerebral hemorrhage occurs because of the possibility of extending the infarct's size. We describe a patient with acute hemorrhagic brain infarction and an echocardiographically demonstrated left atrial myxoma that was surgically resected successfully in the acute phase after the onset of the neurologic symptoms.     

Recurrent right atrial myxoma five years after removal of left atrial myxoma; report of a case

A 41-year-old man had undergone resection of a left atrial myxoma 5 years previously. Echocardiography revealed a new mass in the right atrium. Because of had increased in size gradually, removal of the right atrial mass involving full-thickness resection of the fossa ovalis was performed. Cardiac myxoma has the potential for heterotopic recurrence.     

Angina pectoris with a left atrial myxoma; report of a case

A 78-year-old woman who had been diagnosed as left atrial myxoma and angina pectoris underwent simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and resection of the left atrial myxoma. CABG was preceded by resection of myxoma to avoid systemic embolism of fragment of myxoma. Myocardial protection was secured by combination of antegrade and retrograde infusion of cardioplegia. The patient recovered well and discharged uneventfully.     

Giant left atrial myxoma in a patient with mitral insufficiency: case report

We describe a 57-year-old female patient with left atrial giant myxoma and peroperative defined mitral insufficiency who underwent surgery with a diagnosis of a left atrial myxoma without accompanying mitral insufficiency. Although no clinical findings of mitral insufficiency were noticed preoperatively, after myxoma resection moderate mitral insufficiency was observed during surgery. Mitral insufficiency was repaired with annuloplasty. The patient recovered without complication.     

Recurrent brachial artery embolism caused by a crutch-induced axillary artery aneurysm: report of a case

We report a case of axillary artery aneurysm with brachial artery embolism in a 60-year-old man who had walked with the assistance of axillary crutches all of his life since poliomyelitis during infancy had left him with lower limb paralysis. We performed bypass grafting from the axillary to brachial artery with exclusion of the aneurysm. An axillary artery aneurysm is rare, but potentially lethal for the upper extremity; therefore, surgical treatment should be considered.     

A case of cerebral embolism caused by atrial myxoma--superselective fibrinolytic therapy

A 37-year-old man was admitted to our clinic 3 hours after the onset of cerebrovascular accident with right hemiparesis and total aphasia. On admission, we started combined administration of mannitol, vitamin E, phenytoin (Sendai Cocktail) and perfluorochemicals to protect ischemic brain. Left cerebral angiography revealed occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery involving its perforating arteries. Following the performance of angiography, vascular balloon catheter was introduced into the embolus, and fibrinolytic agent (urokinase) was continuously injected. Soon after the injection of 240,000 unit urokinase, recanalization of left middle cerebral artery was shown by repeated cerebral angiography performed 5.5 hours after the onset. On his clinical course, left hemiparesis and aphasia were improved step by step, and 1 week later, he could walk by himself with minor neurological deficits. Further examination revealed that myxoma was located on left atrium by echocardiography. Within 1 week, the patient was transferred to cardio-surgical unit, and myxoma was successfully removed. Now he is in good health and has returned to his job. Usually cerebral embolisms result from atrial myxoma cause severe cerebral infarction. Here we reported a case of cerebral embolism by myxoma and recanalized using fibrinolytic agent by balloon catheter injection. The damage will be reduced if the duration of occlusion is limited, so this method will be helpful to treat cerebral embolism.     

Inadvertent middle cerebral artery embolism by a detachable balloon: management by embolectomy. Case report

A case of middle cerebral artery embolism by a detachable intra-arterial balloon is presented. The balloon migrated after being detached in an effort to occlude the internal carotid artery proximal to an unclippable giant paraclinoid aneurysm. Volume expansion, induced hypertension, anticoagulation therapy, rapid middle cerebral artery embolectomy, and good collateral circulation are factors that may have contributed to the patient's complete recovery from hemiplegia.     

Ipsilateral hemiparesis caused by subarachnoid hemorrhage in a patient with a ruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysm: a case report

The authors report a patient with a ruptured middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysm who presented with ipsilateral hemiparesis. A computed tomographic (CT) scan and cerebral angiograms suggested that the ipsilateral hemiparesis was most likely due to compression by hematoma of the secondary motor area in the island of Reil. Two other cases that demonstrated ipsilateral motor weakness after rupture of MCA aneurysms have been reported. We emphasize not only the importance of considering dysfunction of the secondary motor area in patients with hemiparesis, but also the difficulty in differentiating ipsilateral secondary motor area dysfunction from contralateral primary motor area dysfunction in certain cases without CT scanning and angiography.     

An atypically localized atrial myxoma: a case report

Atypical cardiac myxomas are rare occurrences and may present with a variety of clinical manifestations depending on the location and morphology. A 46-year-old woman had a 4 x 3 x 2-cm myxoma originating from the superior wall of the left atrium, found by echocardiography and multislice tomography. The tumor was successfully treated by surgical excision. The resected tumor was a well-defined encapsulated mass with a narrow-base stalk originating from the right wall of the left atrium in between the right upper and lower pulmonary vein. The patient recovered without complication and was discharged 6 days after the operation. At 1-year follow-up, echocardiography revealed normal cardiac function without reccurence in terms of mass. Although up to 80% of myxomas are localized in the left atrium, of which 75% involve in the interatrial septum, it should not be forgotten that myxomas can appear in an atypical localization, as occurred in our case.     

A giant left atrial myxoma with severe mitral valve regurgitation: report of a case

A 76-year-old female underwent operation with a diagnosis of a left atrial myxoma with accompanied mitral regurgitation. Although no clinical findings of mitral regurgitation were noticed preoperatively, degenerative changes to the anterior leaflet as well as chordae tendinae possibly due to mechanical damage by the movement of the giant tumor through the mitral valve complex were observed in operation. Resection of the tumor and mitral valve replacement were successfully performed. Our case suggests that it is indispensable to investigate the mitral valve during operation even in case of the left atrial tumor with no preoperative findings of mitral regurgitation.