title: Cardiac myxoma.
abstract: Thirty-five patients (10 men and 25 women) with a preoperative diagnosis of cardiac myxoma have undergone cardiac surgery since 1964 at the University of Louvain. The mean age of the patients was 49 (range 20-75) years. The most commonly encountered symptoms were: dyspnoea 49%; thoracic pain 26%; cough and peripheral embolism 17% each; stroke and preoperative atrial fibrillation 14% each; flutter 11%; expectoration, acute pulmonary oedema, syncope and transient ischaemic attack 6% each; and pulmonary embolism 3%. The different locations were: left atrium 66%; right atrium 26%; both atria 3%; right ventricle 3%: and retrohepatic vena cavae 3%. Septal implantation was found in 66%. Histological examination confirmed 28 myxomas but three 'tumours' were thrombi, two haemangiomas, one rhabdomyosarcoma and one liposarcoma. The follow-up has now reached 2829 months with an average of 81 months per patient (range 0-342 months). Three patients died early (9%) and there were four late deaths (11%). No cases were familial. Surgical resection is the correct treatment for cardiac myxomas and gives good long-term results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), University Clinic of Mont Godinne UCL, Yvoir, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vanleeuw
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Calozet
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eucher
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rubay
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Schoevaerdts
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006346:Heart Septum / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009232:Myxoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D015996:Survival Rate