Cardiac Hemangioma in the Right Ventricle of an Elderly Patient

Abstract

Cardiac hemangioma is a rare, primary, benign cardiac tumor usually diagnosed in young or middle-aged patients. Diagnosis in elderly patients is even rarer. An 80-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with intermittent and worsening left chest discomfort. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed an immobile tumor with broad attachment in the lumen to the anterior wall of the right ventricle. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed an irregular, oval defect in contrast enhancement in the right ventricle. T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging revealed an oval tumor attached to the anterior wall of the right ventricle. Complete resection of the tumor, including myocardium at the tumor attachment, was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass. The resulting defect in the anterior wall of the right ventricle was repaired with a bovine pericardial patch. Postoperative histopathological examination resulted in the diagnosis of benign cardiac cavernous-capillary type hemangioma. The patient was discharged home on postoperative day 12 without major complications. She has since been followed-up at our outpatient clinic, and has been doing well with no evidence of recurrence as of 3 years postoperatively. We report our experience with this rare case.