Relapsed pulmonary sarcoma presenting as congestive heart failure

Excerpt

A 28-year-old woman presented with a 3-week history of progressively worsening shortness of breath, orthopnoea and peripheral oedema. She was previously diagnosed with metastatic pulmonary sarcoma, necessitating right middle-lower lobectomy. She was distressed, hypoxic and hypotensive, with bilateral pitting oedema and a raised jugular venous pressure. A transthoracic echocardiogram revealed a sizable cavitated echogenic mass compressing the left ventricle (Fig. 1a and b). Contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography confirmed the presence of a large, fusiform-shaped, soft tissue mass compressing the left ventricle and causing rightward deviation of the heart (Fig. 2). Histology following resection confirmed the presence of a relapsed pulmonary sarcoma.

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