Mister Alan, a 75-year-old American tourist, on his honeymoon with his wife in Umbria to celebrate fifty years of marriage, was hospitalized urgently in Perugia Hospital for a stroke in recent days. During the instrumental diagnostic tests, the presence of a voluminous intracardiac tumor mass in the left atrium of the heart of approximately seven centimeters in diameter was detected. The specialists immediately activated the cardiac surgery team directed by Dr. Marcello Bergonzini who advised the patient to have emergency surgery to remove the tumor.
The note «The very high risk of complications – underlines Marcello Bergonzini, director of Cardiac Surgery at the Perugia Hospital – as well as the very high probability of developing acute pulmonary edema made returning to the United States dangerous for the survival of our patient. For this reason I proposed emergency cardiac surgery to Mister Alan. During the operating session, my team and I noted that the mass originated from a particular anatomical site which required partial mobilization of the heart (cardiotomy) to allow complete excision of the tumor. Then, in the same session – continues Bergonzini – we proceeded to perform an aorto-coronary bypass, a mitral valvuloplasty and the amputation of a part of the left atrium of the heart. The patient is currently in good clinical condition and will be ready to face the return flight to the USA in the next few days.” Mister Alan and his wife expressed to the medical director, Dr. Arturo Pasqualucci, thanks for the excellent specialist care received and for punctual nursing care, underlining the efficiency and free nature of the Italian public healthcare system.
