Reversible tricuspid valve stenosis due to a metastatic dissemination of a noncardiac sarcoma

Abstract

Malignant disease is present in the pericardium of 1.5% to 20.6% of patients dying of malignant diseases as was examined postmortem. We present a case of a 57-year-old man with a history of Hodgkin's disease and a sarcoma of gluteus who presented with tachypnea, generalized weakness, and anasarca for 7 days. The echocardiogram revealed the presence of a significant pericardial thickening and localized pericardial effusion resulting from a tricuspid stenosis. A right anterior thoracotomy was performed, and a pericardiectomy (4 x 4 cm) was done. The histologic examination of the pericardium revealed the presence of a metastatic dissemination from a sarcoma. The cause for the clinical presentation and the treatment of malignant pericardial disease are discussed.