Acute heart failure caused by a giant hepatocellular metastatic tumor of the right atrium

Abstract

Abstract We present a symptomatic 40-year-old cirrhotic man who presented with sudden onsets of syncope. Echocardiography revealed right ventricular outflow track obstruction caused by a huge right atrial mass. The tumor was surgically excised under cardiopulmonary bypass. Although no primary cancerous lesion in the liver was detected, histopathology revealed that the mass was a metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this report is to show the value of urgent preoperative computed tomography and its contribution in the operative strategy. The importance of urgent surgical treatment with tricuspid valve sparing tumor resection is emphasized even though the prognosis for such patients is dismal. We also discuss the further management options of such rare cases