[Left atrial myxoma: a rare cause of acute occlusion of the aorta. Case report and review of the literature].

We present an observation of a 42-year-old patient admitted in urgency for lower limbs weakness followed by paralysis. At physical examination the lower limbs were cold. Pulses of the lower limbs could not be palpated. Color Duplex ultrasonography revealing an embolus occluding both the infrarenal aorta and bilateral iliac arteries. The aortoiliac embolus was removed by balloon endarterectomy through the femoral arteries with evacuation of a transparent, gelatinous embolus followed by extensive fasciotomies. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed a mass in the left atrium. Pathological examination of the material embolic confirmed the diagnosis of the cardiac myxoma. The clinical course was marked by the development of a syndrome of revascularization; death occurred the fourth day of hospitalization. This case highlights the need for pre- and perioperative measures to be taken to overcome hyperkalemia and acute renal failure when revascularizing acute, massive, prolonged ischemia of the lower body.