[Cerebellar hematomas in a patient with atrial myxoma]

Abstract

We describe a case report of a 69 year old woman with atrial myxoma, presented as a cerebellar syndrome caused by ischemic infarctions of the posterior circulation. The transthoracic 2D echocardiogram provided the diagnosis of a left atrial myxoma. Seven months after surgical removal of the cardiac tumor, the cerebellar syndrome worse with the acute development of intracranial hypertension. A CT scan detected multiple hematomas of both lobes and vermix of the cerebellum and hydrocephalus. These late neurologic complications permitted us to suspect and discuss some diagnostic hypotheses. Cardiac myxomas are rare and their presentation as early neurologic manifestations occur in 20-25% of the cases. The late neurologic complications of myxoma are even more rare, only a few cases being reported in world literature.