Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography Diagnosis of a Left Ventricular False Tendon Mimicking a Left Ventricular Mass: A Case Report

Background: Left ventricle false tendons (LVFTs) are discrete and relatively rare, fibromuscular structures of varying length and thickness that traverse the left ventricle (LV) cavity.Routine transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the commonly used diagnostic technique to diagnose and evaluate LVFT.Case description: Thickened LVFT not oriented in either longitudinal or transverse fashion was misdiagnosed as a case of LV mass on twodimensional (2D) echo and cardiac magnetic resonance index (MRI) in a young patient.He was listed for excisional surgery.Preoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) revealed it to be LVFT and the surgery could be averted. Conclusion:Though TTE and cardiac MRI are the commonly used diagnostic techniques to diagnose and evaluate cardiac masses, TEE provides superior image resolution and better visualization of cardiac masses.