Surgical excision of a rare cardiac tumor: Cardiac hibernoma

Background and Aim Cardiac hibernoma is a very rare benign cardiac tumour. We report a case of its surgical management. Methods A case study with retrospective review of prospective patient data. Results A 60 year old male who presented with acute shortness of breath was found to have SVC compression on cardiac imaging. At operation the tumour was in the right atrial wall invading the intra-atrial groove and extending over superior vena cava (SVC), causing significant symptoms of SVC obstruction and tamponade. This was resected and the right atrium was reconstructed with Bovine pericardial patch. He was discharged home well. Conclusions Cardiac hibernoma is a rare tumour which can be successfully treated by surgical excision.