Right atrial myxoma: echocardiographic appearance

A 67-year-old asymptomatic male was admitted for evaluationof his arterial hypertension. The routine echocardiographicstudy revealed a large tumour in the dilated right atrium. Themass appeared to arise from the posterior wall of the rightatrium. After infusion of a contrast agent, the mass appearedto fill with the contrast agent, ruling out the possibilityof the mass being a clot. Transesophageal study revealed a round mass arising from theposterior right atrial wall just adjacent to the extrusion ofthe superior vena cava. The patient subsequently underwent cardiacsurgery and a cardiac tumour was excised that proved to be acardiac myxoma. In this case we present echocardiographic imagesand the macro- and microscopic view of the right atrial myxoma.