Diagnosis, operation, recurrence, metastasis, and death: a case of primary cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma.

We present a case report of a 48-year-old man with a huge left atrial rhabdomyosarcoma who presented as severe mitral stenosis and accepted emergency surgery. Two years later, a pathologic fracture revealed osseous metastasis, and intracardiac recurrence was detected by echocardiography. The patient died of multiple organ failure in the end. This case is an unusual presentation of complete course of cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma (CR) from diagnosis, operation, recurrence, and metastasis to death. Although primary CR is highly lethal, operation should be indicated to clarify the diagnosis, relieve symptoms, and improve short-term survival.