Surgical Treatment of a Huge Left Atrial Myxoma

Primary cardiac tumors are rarely seen and myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumors. Over 75% of the cases, myxomas originate from the left atrium. Although the diagnosis might be done incidentally in some, almost 67% of patients have cardiac signs and symptoms related to the classic triad of obstruction, embolism and constitutional symptoms. Constitutional symptoms including malaise, anorexia, fever, arthralgia and weight loss are reported to be common in patients with atrial myxomas and they often mimic connective tissue disorders and malignancy (1). In this paper, we present surgical treatment of a patient with a huge left atrial myxoma.

Reference

1. Pinede L, Duhaut P, Loire R. Clinical presentation of left atrial cardiac myxoma. A series of 112 consecutive cases. Medicine (Baltimore). 2001;80:159-72.