ABSTRACT
A 34 years old woman with a history of childhood rheumatic fever presented with a number of episodes of systemic embolism over a 10 years period attributed to mitral stenosis despite long-term anticoagulant therapy. All preoperative electrocardiograms showed sinus rhythm. After one episode of recurrent embolism (brain, limbs) requiring femoral embolectomy, she developed oligo-anuric renal failure and needed 21 days of hemodialysis. She made a full recovery. Several years later, she presented with chronic progressive renal failure. The diagnosis of left atrial myxoma was eventually made at echocardiography: surgical excision was successful. Periodic hemodialysis was started six months later. The authors use this case to illustrate unusual presentations of myxoma and above all their vascular complications; the possibility of embolic renal disease leading to advanced renal failure is discussed, a complication of left atrial myxoma which seems to be very rare.
Subject(s)
Heart Neoplasms/complications , Kidney Failure, Chronic/etiology , Myxoma/complications , Adult , Echocardiography , Female , Heart Atria , Heart Neoplasms/diagnosis , Humans , Myxoma/diagnosis , Time FactorsABSTRACT
A patient with schizophrenia for many years presented after an attempted suicide, a severe drug-induced catatonia. In these circumstances, an hereditary coproporphyria was discovered. Clinical and pathophysiological interrelationships between the two syndromes are discussed.