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Updated: Jun 22, 2025

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance for the Evaluation of Suspected Cardiac Thrombus: Conventional and Emerging Techniques
Published on: June 11, 2019
Two cases of atrial myxoma with calcification and ossification as the main features
Yafei Yin1, Juan Deng1, Yuan Liu1
1Department of Ultrasound, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, 400037, China.
Background:
Cardiac myxomas are the most common type of primary cardiac tumors in adults, but they can have variable features that make them difficult to diagnose. We report two cases of atrial myxoma with calcification or ossification, which are rare pathological subgroups of myxoma.
Case Presentation:
A 47-year-old woman and a 35-year-old man presented to our hospital with different symptoms. Both patients had a history of chronic diseases. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography revealed a mass in the left or right atrium, respectively, with strong echogenicity and echogenic shadows. The masses were suspected to be malignant tumors with calcification or ossification. Contrast transthoracic echocardiography(cTEE) showed low blood supply within the lesions. The patients underwent surgical resection of the atrial mass, and the pathology confirmed myxoma with partial ossification or massive calcification.
Conclusion:
We report two rare cases of atrial myxoma with calcification or ossification and analyze their ultrasonographic features. Transthoracic echocardiography and cTEE can provide valuable information for the diagnosis and management of such mass. However, distinguishing calcification and ossification in myxoma from calcification in malignant tumors is challenging. More studies are needed to understand the pathogenesis and imaging characteristics of these myxoma variants.
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