Floating ascending aortic thrombus with antiphospholipid syndrome: a case report

Background: Ascending aortic thrombus is a rare disease that can cause fatal thromboembolism. The treatment for the disease is not well defined and depends on the clinical experience of surgeons. Most reports of thrombosis in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) are associated with venous or peripheral arterial thrombosis, and there are almost no reports of thrombosis of the aorta.

Case presentation: A 74-year-old male was referred to our department with claudication of the left leg lasting 3 months. A computed tomography angiography (CTA) and a transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated that a floating and pedunculated mass associated with APS was located at ascending aortic lumen and an embolism in the left superficial femoral artery. Under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, we resected a floating mass without the graft replacement. CTA 1 year after surgery showed no recurrence of thrombus.

Conclusion: We experienced a rare case of floating ascending aortic thrombi. As in this case, we consider that a floating ascending aortic thrombus with embolic events should be performed by surgical intervention.