CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · THORAC CARDIOV SURG Reports 2018; 07(01): e18-e20
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1660807
Case Report: Cardiac
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Primary Cardiac B-Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Disguised as a Pacemaker Endocarditis

Felix Fleißner
1  Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
2  Institute for Molecular and Translational Therapeutic Strategies (IMTTS), Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
,
Ulrich Molitoris
1  Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
,
Wiebke Rösler
3  Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
,
Christian Kühn
1  Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

02 February 2018

21 March 2018

Publication Date:
28 June 2018 (online)

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Abstract

Background Pacemaker infections rates are high compared with the incidence of primary malignant cardiac tumors. However, they can look alike in diagnostics and patient presentation.

Case Description We hereby report a rare case of a suspected pacemaker endocarditis which in fact turned out to be a primary cardiac B cell lymphoma. The lymphoma was removed surgically.

Conclusion Sometimes we encounter the unexpected. Suboptimal preoperative diagnostics certainly lead to the faulty conclusion of an endocarditis. Nonetheless, even such an enhanced primary cardiac tumor can be resected with good clinical outcome and long-term survival.

Keywords

pacemaker endocarditis - primary cardiac non-Hodgkin lymphoma

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“If You Hear Hoof Beats, Think Horses, Not Zebras”THORAC CARDIOV SURG Reports 2018; 07(01): e35-e35
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1660808