Over the past 14 years, 12 patients were diagnosed as having cardiac myxoma. All cases were sporadic, single, large, left atrial myxomas. These patients presented with nonspecific cardiac and noncardiac manifestations. The majority were misdiagnosed as valvar heart disease at initial evaluation, although echocardiography confirmed the diagnosis of myxoma in all. Prompt surgical excision of the tumor was carried out in 11 patients. Additionally, one of them underwent mitral valve repair. This patient died postoperatively due to a coronary embolism, and reoperation. One patient refused surgery. Of the 10 surviving patients who had operations, 9 remain asymptomatic and in sinus rhythm, while 1 has progressive mitral regurgitation and cardiac failure. Our experience indicates that prompt tumor excision under transesophageal echo guidance, shortly after diagnosis, yields excellent results with low morbidity and mortality.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.