title: A large tumour of the left atrium - A 10-year follow-up.
abstract: Benign myxomas are the most common primary tumors in the left atrium of the heart, and they usually require urgent operative management. However, with the constant aging of the population and treatment of patients with severe concomitant diseases, an interesting question is the efficacy of the conservative approach. We present a case of a 75-year-old woman who was previously diagnosed with a left atrial myxoma, underwent an operation to resect it and then developed a recurrent tumor at the site of resection, which was found by control echocardiography 1.5 years later. She has been observed for over 10 years, as she repeatedly refused reoperation. In the setting of this example of a relatively favorable clinical course of left atrium myxoma, we discuss the current knowledge about the natural history of these tumors and the role of echocardiography in predicting their growth and complications.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Clinical of Physiotherapy Division of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Bielański Hospital in Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: agalebek@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Agnieszka M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Łebek-Szatańska
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Provincial St. Mary Hospital in Częstochowa, Poland.
authors.forename: Zbigniew L
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Łebek
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Clinical of Physiotherapy Division of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Bielański Hospital in Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Marek J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dąbrowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Provincial St. Mary Hospital in Częstochowa, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Kardaszewicz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000072700:Conservative Treatment; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D009232:Myxoma / Q000601:surgery*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Echocardiography; Left atrial myxoma