Right ventricular mass: A histopathological surprise

A 33-year-old woman in the postpartum period presented with a mass in the right ventricular outflow tract. She underwent excision of the mass under standard cardiopulmonary bypass. Histopathologic examination of the mass revealed a metastatic lesion from the thyroid, which was follicular carcinoma of the thyroid. Later she underwent total thyroidectomy with lymph node dissection of the neck and radioactive I-131 ablation for the residual tumor in the neck. At 1-year follow-up, the patient has no evidence of residual lesion in the heart, neck, or anywhere else in the body. A detailed preoperative workup could have changed the order of interventions and probably avoided a heart operation. (C) 2003 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.