Aortic coarctation with cardiac fibroma in a young patient: a case report

Background Cardiac fibroma and aortic coarctation are rarely observed concomitantly in the same patient. We report a case of cardiac fibroma with aortic coarctation treated with a hybrid surgical procedure. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of these two abnormalities existing in one patient. Case summary A 22-year-old female patient visited the clinic with a 10-year history of hypertension. Physical examination revealed blood pressure of the upper extremities 50 mmHg higher than that of the lower extremities. Computed tomography angiography revealed a post-ductal-type aortic coarctation at the beginning segment of the descending aorta along with a 7.7 cm × 5.1 cm left ventricular mass. Transthoracic echocardiogram showed a mass at the middle segments of the lateral wall and apex and posterior wall of the left ventricle. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging also showed the mass with hypointense signal on T1, hyperintense signal on T2, and intense signal on late gadolinium enhancement. No evidences of metastatic lesions were observed on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. The patient underwent a hybrid surgery involving aortic stent implantation and complete left ventricular mass removal. The gradient between stenosis returned to <10 mmHg after the procedure. Pathologic findings revealed cardiac fibroma. Discussion It is rare to encounter a patient suffering from both cardiac fibroma and aortic coarctation. No evidences indicated a single cause or syndrome resulting in the coexistence of these two abnormalities. A hybrid surgery involving aortic stent implantation and complete cardiac mass resection could optimize the treatment in such cases.