Risk of blood vessel obstruction due to rare heart valve tumors

Ho Chi Minh City Anh Ninh, 48 years old, has an 11x10 mm tumor that is not firmly attached but only partially attached to the mitral valve of the heart, with the risk of detaching and drifting away, causing a blood vessel blockage.

On September 26, Dr. Pham Thuc Minh Thuy, Cardiovascular Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the echocardiogram results showed that Mr. Ninh had a mobile tumor that was only partially attached to the heart valve, which could cause blood vessel blockage, during a routine health check. The doctor diagnosed and monitored benign fibroelastoma, not cancer.

For primary cardiac tumors, the incidence is less than 1/2,000 people. The most common of these is myxoma. "Benign fibroelastic papilloma is rare and fibroelastic papilloma on the mitral valve is very rare," said Dr. Thuy.

The tumor is not large in size and is located on one side, so it is difficult to detect. Tumors in this location are often caused by three factors: papilloma due to infective endocarditis, blood clots on the heart valve, and benign fibroelastic papilloma.

The doctors consulted and decided to operate on the patient. To prepare for the surgery, the patient underwent a CT scan to rule out coronary artery disease, as well as to examine the structure of the tumor and look for tumors in other hidden locations. The doctor also examined to rule out infective endocarditis (infection of the pericardium) and performed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain to increase the success rate of the surgery.

According to Dr. Thuy, in the world, most cases of benign fibroelastoma are only discovered after complications of vascular occlusion cause stroke or heart attack. In this patient, luckily the tumor was discovered early, before it damaged the heart valve.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Dung, Head of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, and the endoscopic cardiac surgery team removed the entire tumor, preserving the heart valve. The patient recovered quickly and continued to have regular echocardiograms because this type of tumor has about a 10% chance of recurrence.

Endoscopic surgeons remove a rare papilloma on a patient's heart valve. Photo: Tam Anh Hospital — Endoscopic surgeons remove a rare papilloma on a patient's heart valve. Photo: *Tam Anh Hospital*

Regular health check-ups can help detect the disease early. According to Dr. Dung, surgery is the only treatment to remove the papillary fibroelastoma. At the same time, the doctor also repairs the valve or replaces it with an artificial valve in case the valve leaflets are severely damaged. Patients undergo endoscopic heart surgery with a small incision to reduce the risk of blood loss and recover quickly.

Thu Ha

* Patient name has been changed

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