Natural history of an atrial myxoma.
The case described is an 89-year-old male patient with a left atrial myxoma, first visualised in 1997, who was a poor operative candidate owing to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The tumour had a cross-sectional growth rate of only 0.2 cm2 per year and was asymptomatic over 79 months follow-up: the longest reported follow-up period of a non-calcified myxoma. The report highlights the variety of growth rates described for myxoma in the literature and raises the possibility of a conservative management approach, particularly in high-risk operative candidates.
Ullah
Waqas
W
Elderly Care Unit, St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7EH, UK. waqas@doctors.org.uk
McGovern
Rory
R
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004452:Echocardiography; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006325:Heart Atria; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009232:Myxoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy