Intravenous leiomyomatosis extending into the right ventricular cavity: One-stage radical operation using cardiopulmonary bypass - A case report

The authors describe a 47-year-old woman with intravenous leiomyomatosis (I VL) extending into the right ventricular cavity. This rare entity is a neop lasm originating from smooth muscle of the uterus, with vermiform extension s into the inferior vena cava. The patient underwent a one-stage operation under simultaneous sternotomy and laparotomy, and radical excision of the t umor was successfully achieved with use of normothermic cardiopulmonary byp ass. Although this tumor is histologically benign, it sometimes extends int o the cardiac cavity and causes sudden death due to incarceration into the atrioventricular orifice. Moreover, recurrence or lung metastasis of IVL ha s been reported. The authors recommend a one stage-radical resection of the tumor or a two-staged operation within a short interval. In the literature , 24 surgical cases of the intravenous leiomyomatosis with intracardiac ext ension have been reported. The diagnosis and surgical treatment of this tum or are reviewed and discussed.