Abstract
A patient was evaluated for a persistent pericardial effusion and on two-dimensional echocardiography was found to have an intracavitary left ventricular mass. Twenty-two years earlier, a melanoma of the ethmoid sinus had been excised. An electrocardiogram revealed impressive T-wave abnormalities and pathologic Q waves, initially suggestive of 'myocardial infarction'. However, the coronary arteries were normal at angiography. At catheterization, the left ventricular mass was biopsied, using a transvenous catheter-directed technique, and proved to be a metastatic melanoma. This procedure obivated the need for diagnostic thoracotomy. We believe that this is a unique application of the use of catheter-directed biopsy to make a histologic diagnosis of a left ventricular neoplasm.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 195-198 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Chest |
Volume | 84 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1983 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
- Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine