title: Emergency surgery due to haematoma in a case of left atrial myxoma.
abstract: Atrial myxomas generally do not require urgent surgery. We report on a 78-year-old woman in whom transesophageal echography revealed a large left atrial myxoma. She acutely developed dyspnoea, tachypnoea, and forward failure necessating urgent surgery. The myxoma was surgically removed and showed a haematoma. The most likely reason for the deteriorating condition was acute enlargement of the myxoma due to intramyxomal haemorrhage. This case illustrates that the clinical condition of patients with symptomatic myxoma can deteriorate suddenly and require urgent surgical treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardio-thoracic Surgery, Room BD 156, Erasmus MC Rotterdam, P.O. Box 2040, Dr. Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ozcan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Birim
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: de Jong
authors.forename: Tjebbe W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Galema
authors.forename: A Pieter
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Kappetein
authors.forename: Ad J J C
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bogers
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D006406:Hematoma / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D009232:Myxoma / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*