title: Growth rate of an apical left ventricular myxoma using serial two dimensional echocardiographic and computed tomography observations over twelve months: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Myxomas are the most common benign tumors of the heart. They vary widely in size, and little is known about their growth rate. The present case report is, we believe the first in bibliography that provides images of an apical left ventricular myxoma from transthoracic echocardiography and computed tomography scans taken a year apart.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present the rare case of a 65-year-old asymptomatic Caucasian man with an apical left ventricular myxoma that grew over a 12-month period. Our patient underwent successful surgical excision of the tumor and had an uneventful postsurgical recovery period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Left ventricular myxomas are benign and curable tumors. They do not usually present with systemic symptomatology and most of them are diagnosed as sequelae of syncope caused by left ventricular outflow tract obstruction or systemic embolization. Because they are usually removed after diagnosis, the growth rate of myxomas is generally unknown. We present a rare case of the asymptomatic presentation of a left ventricular myxoma and its documented growth during a 12-month period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, 8 Iasiou Street, 11521 Athens, Greece. giotadoc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Panagiota
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kourkoveli
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsiapras
authors.forename: Evaggelia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grisbolaki
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Karapanagiotou
authors.forename: Stamatina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kampanarou
authors.forename: Stamatis
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kyrzopoulos
authors.forename: Loukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaklamanis
authors.forename: Mazen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khoury
authors.forename: Vassilis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Voudris