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![Histopathological features of the embolus removed from the bifurcation of the common femoral artery ([A & B] × 100, and [C] × 200) are consistent with cardiac myxoma.](publication/320597689/figure/fig1/AS:573773856608256@1513809755735/Histopathological-features-of-the-embolus-removed-from-the-bifurcation-of-the-common.png)
Histopathological features of the embolus removed from the bifurcation of the common femoral artery ([A & B] × 100, and [C] × 200) are consistent with cardiac myxoma.
Source publication
Cardiac myxomas are the most common cardiac tumors with diverse nonspecific clinical manifestations. A 78-year-old man presented to the emergency department with complaints of pain and coldness of the left lower extremity. The left femoral artery pulse was detected, while the pulses of the left popliteal, dorsalis pedis, and posterior tibialis arte...
Context in source publication
Citations
... 1,2 Cardiac myxomas occur most commonly in the third to sixth decades of life but can occur at any age and are more common in female patients in a >2:1 ratio. [1][2][3][4] Most cardiac myxomas (75%) originate from the left atrium and less commonly are found in the right atrium, bilateral atria, heart valves, and only 3%-4% detected in either ventricle. There have also been reports of combined atrial and ventricular myxomas. 1 Histologically, myxomas are composed of stellate, spindle, or polygonal cells in nests, cords, or complex structures, often surrounding vessels, within acid-mucopolysaccharide-rich stroma. ...
... 1,4 Myxoma characteristics including mobility, size, location, and type are associated with likelihood of embolism. [1][2][3] The consistency of the myxoma determines its mobility, with villous extensions being fragile with greater tendency to fragment and embolize. 1,4 Systemic emboli occur in 30%-50% of patients with myxoma with over 50% of emboli going to the CNS and retinal arteries. ...
... 1,4 Systemic emboli occur in 30%-50% of patients with myxoma with over 50% of emboli going to the CNS and retinal arteries. [2][3][4] Cardiac myxomas are the cause of <1% of ischemic strokes. 5,6 Hemorrhagic stroke is less common and is related to the formation of cerebral aneurysms. ...
Emboli caused by cardiac myxomas mostly occur in the cardiovascular or cerebrovascular systems and rarely in the lower extremity vasculature. We introduce the rare case of a patient with left atrial myxoma (LAM) whose right lower extremity (RLE) suffered from acute ischemia due to tumor fragments, along with a review of the relevant literature, and highlight the clinical characteristics of LAM. An 81-year-old female presented with acute ischemia of RLE. Color Doppler ultrasound showed no blood flow signal far from the RLE femoral artery. Computed tomography angiography showed an occlusion of the right common femoral artery. A transthoracic echocardiogram revealed a left atrial mass. Femoral artery embolectomy was performed under local anesthesia, followed by thoracotomy with tumor resection under general anesthesia on postoperative day seven. The tumor was pathologically confirmed as an atrial myxoma. A literature search of the PubMed database returned 58 cases of limb ischemia due to LAM, and the conclusions drawn from the statistical analysis were that emboli from LAM occurred most commonly in the aortoiliac and bilateral lower limb vasculature and were rarely associated with upper extremity and atrial fibrillation. Multisystem embolism is characteristic of cardiac myxoma. The removed embolus should be examined pathologically for signs of a cardiac myxoma. Lower-limb embolisms should be promptly diagnosed and treated to avoid osteofascial compartment syndrome.
