Mitral valve papillary fibroelastoma: surgical considerations

Cardiac papillary fibroelastomas are uncommon primary cardiac tumors. Due to their infrequent occurrence, an appropriate management strategy has been difficult to define. We report a 51-year-old female with a papillary fibroelastoma of the mitral valve diagnosed during a source of embolism evaluation, where the association between symptoms and the tumor were equivocal. The mitral valve papillary fibroelastoma was electively surgically excised, based on the proposed guidelines that allow for identification of patients at greatest risk of embolic events. We review the evaluation and selection of those patients who might benefit from surgical therapy even in the absence of symptoms.