Why the study?
Papillary fibroelastoma is a rare benign primary cardiac tumor that may cause severe embolic events, highlighting the need to evaluate cardiac etiologies in unexplained embolic events.
Demonstrates the critical role of comprehensive echocardiographic evaluation in identifying rare cardiac embolic sources, such as papillary fibroelastoma, in patients presenting with extra-cardiac embolic events.
Case report of PFE with retinal embolism supports TEE in select workups; leaves open prospective validation before broader adoption.
Papillary fibroelastoma (PFE) is a very rare benign primary cardiac tumor that preferentially affects heart valves and may lead to severe embolic events. Its diagnosis is now easily suggested by echocardiography, and surgical excision is a safe and effective treatment to prevent recurrence. We report the case of a patient referred for the etiological evaluation of a central retinal artery occlusion, in whom transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) revealed a fibroelastoma located on the mitral valve. This case highlights the importance of a comprehensive cardiac evaluation in any unexplained embolic event, even when the initial presentation is extra-cardiac.
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Rahali et al. (2025) studied this question.
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