Tricuspid papillary fibroelastoma at multimodal imaging

Papillary fibroelastoma is a rare benign cardiac tumor, second after cardiac myxoma as more frequent cardiac valvular tumor. The therapy is usually based on surgery according to size, mobility, symptoms, and risks of surgery. We report the case of a 67-year old female with transient ischemic attack. Echocardiography showed the presence of a round mobile formation localized on the atrial side of septal leaflets of tricuspid valve, first identified as an endocarditis vegetation. Cardiac magnetic resonance (cMRI) confirmed the presence of the mass and showed an isointense signal in T1-turbo spin echo sequences, hypointense in cine steady-state free precession and in first-pass sequences, and hyperintense in T2 and phase-sensitive inversion recovery with central hypointense core, with a suspected diagnosis of fibroelastoma. The patient underwent cardiac surgery and histology confirmed the presence of fibroelastic tissue with papillary extroflexions compatible with diagnosis of fibroelastoma. The use of cMRI may be useful in the evaluation of the exact position, dimensions, and nature of cardiac masses and fibroelastomas, diagnostic workup, and preliminary assessment before surgery.