title: Cardiac tumors: a retrospective multicenter institutional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Primary cardiac tumors are uncommon but not extremely rare. Cardiac tumors, mostly intracavitary, include benign and malignant tumors that arise from the endocardium, heart valves or myocardium. This retrospective study summarizes the experience of the Cardiac Surgery Departments of three tertiary Hospitals in this field, and particularly in cardiac myxomas, over the last 29 years. Herein, we present the results of cardiac tumors excision in relation to postoperative morbidity and mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 1985 and 2014, 117 patients, aged from 16 to 82 years, underwent resection of a cardiac tumor.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety one of the tumors (77.78%) were myxomas, 15 of them (12.82%) were other primary cardiac tumors, 7 of them (5.98%) were infra-diaphragmatic tumors and the remaining 4 tumors (3.42%) were benign intracavitary masses (thrombi). Patients operated on for a cardiac tumor had a 30-day mortality rate of 3.29%. Atrial fibrillation appeared in 21 out of 91 patients (23.07%) operated on for cardiac myxoma, while neurological complications were observed in 3 patients (3.29%). Re-exploration for bleeding was performed in 5 out of 91 cases (5.49%) and recurrence occurred in 4.39% of myxomas.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite being rare, primary cardiac tumors require open heart intervention soon after their diagnosis in order to prevent complications and achieve low mortality rates.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Surgery Department, General Hospital of Athens "Evangelismos'", Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolaos G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Baikoussis
authors.forename: Nikolaos A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Papakonstantinou
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dedeilias
authors.forename: Michalis
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Argiriou
authors.forename: Efstratios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Apostolakis
authors.forename: Efstratios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koletsis
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dougenis
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Charitos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D005260:Female; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult