Left Atrial Papillary Fibroelastoma Mimicking Myxoma

Papillary fibroelastomas (PFEs) followed by cardiac myxomas (CM) are the 2 most common primary benign cardiac tumors. Although typically asymptomatic, they can manifest with nonspecific symptoms such as dyspnea and dizziness or more acute manifestations such as embolic events. We describe an unusual location of a PFE typically seen with a CM. A 66-year-old woman presented with shortness of breath and dizziness. An echocardiogram revealed a left atrial mass suggestive of a CM, which was surgically removed. Histopathologic examination surprisingly confirmed it to be a PFE. This case highlights the importance of considering PFEs in the differential diagnosis of atrial masses because they can mimic CM clinically and radiographically, thus emphasizing the role of histopathologic examination for definitive diagnosis.