Surgical technique for massive mural thrombus in the left atrium.

A surgical case of a massive mural thrombus in the left atrium associated with valvular heart disease is herein presented. The fresh autologous pericardium was used to cover the roughened left atrial endocardium after the removal of the mural thrombus. This procedure seems useful to prevent not only the perioperative thromboembolism caused by the dislodgement of the fragmented small thrombus but also any long-term future thrombus formation by creating a smooth surface layer with the autologous pericardium.