Yamada Noriko, Minato Naoki, Ikeda Kazuyuki, Shimokawa Tomoki, Hisamatsu Yasushi
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Fukuoka Tokushukai Hospital, 4-5 Suku-kita, Kasuga City, Fukuoka 816-0864, Japan.
Jpn J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2003 Oct;51(10):557-61. doi: 10.1007/s11748-003-0124-2.
We report two cases of rare primary pulmonary artery (PA) tumor. Case 1 was a 65-year-old man with malignant fibrous histiocytoma which caused severe stenosis over the main PA and right PA. Case 2 was a 49-year-old woman with leiomyosarcoma which caused severe stenosis from the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) to the main PA. Both cases underwent endarterectomy, tumor resection, and PA reconstruction under cardiopulmonary bypass. The symptoms of right heart failure improved postoperatively. Tumor recurrences were however recognized in both cases in the early postoperative period, and both patients died of the disease 12 (case 1) and 21 (case 2) months after operation respectively. Tumor resection by endarterectomy techniques may be incomplete because of frequent local recurrence. Postoperative adjuvant therapy in addition to radical resection and reconstruction of the PA and tumor might increase the length of survival.