An unusual complication of the Le Veen shunt: a right atrial ventricular chamber pseudotumor.

We report the case of a right atrial-ventricular chamber thrombus discovered four years after insertion of a Le Veen shunt for treatment of refractory ascites. A two-dimensional echocardiogram, performed after the discovery of an isolated systolic murmur, demonstrated a "tumorlike" mass seated in both the right atrium and the right ventricle. The mass was surgically removed and histologic examination confirmed that it was a thrombus developed at the tip of the catheter. We propose that two-dimensional echocardiography should be performed periodically for the survey of such intracardiac devices.