Myxoma at junction of inferior vena cava and right atrium: surgical excision

Atrial myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumors. In 20% of cases, they arise from the right atrium. Only a few such tumors are reported to have arisen from the inferior vena cava. We report a case in which we discovered, in a young, asymptomatic woman, an atrial myxoma arising from the anterior-superior junction of the inferior vena cava with the right atrium.Although transthoracic echocardiography is still considered the most important diagnostic imaging method for application to cardiac tumors, its use in our patient failed, probably due to the unusual location and small size of the mass. The diagnosis was made with the aid of transesophageal echocardiography, which proved its superiority and accuracy in this application.