Sudden Death by Pulmonary Thromboembolism due to a Large Uterine Leiomyoma with a Parasitic Vein to the Mesentery

Abstract

The pathophysiology of venous thrombosis is classically attributed to alterations in one or more components of Virchow’s triad: hypercoagulability, stasis, and damage to the vascular endothelium. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) may lead to pulmonary thromboembolism (PE), and the latter is culpable for many deaths annually in the United States; however, DVT as a complication of uterine leiomyoma has rarely been reported. We report a case of a 57-year-old woman whose death was due to a large pedunculated subserosal leiomyoma externally compressing the pelvic veins resulting in stasis and venous thrombosis leading to fatal PE. The association of large pelvic masses with venous thrombosis has clinical implications, since prophylactic surgery could be life-saving.