Emergency surgery for acute mitral valve obstruction resulting from hemorrhage within a left atrial myxoma

Left atrial myxomas are benign, slow-growing primary cardiac tumors. They present with gradual onset of one or more of a triad of obstructive, embolic, or constitutional symptoms. Transesophageal echocardiography aids in the detailed preoperative and intraoperative evaluation of the myxoma for surgical strategy planning. We describe a previously unreported case of interstitial hemorrhage in a left atrial myxoma leading to rapid expansion of the tumor with features of acute, mitral valve obstruction. Transesophageal echocardiography showed a cystic area in the left atrial tumor that corresponded to an area of recent hemorrhage confirmed on surgical removal.