Pulmonary vein infiltration from a malignant lung neoplasm is a serious condition that may result in a constant source of systemic emboli. Although surgery is often indicated to prevent recurrent embolism, aggressive approaches have shown a high rate of perioperative morbidity. We herein report the case of a patient diagnosed with lung cancer infiltrating the cardiac chambers through the left superior pulmonary vein, who was treated by left pulmonary vein patch closure as a preventive and less invasive measure to reduce the thromboembolic risk.
Keywords: Cardiac Surgical Procedures; Heart Atria; Lung Neoplasms; Neoplasm Metastasis; Pulmonary Veins; Thromboembolism.
© The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.