Cardiac myxomas arising from the mitral valve are extremely rare. We d
escribe the case of an asymptomatic 49-year-old woman who was found to
have a 3.6 x 4.0-cm myxoma originating from the atrial side of the an
terior initral leaflet. The lesion was successfully treated by surgica
l excision and mitral valve replacement. A review of the literature re
garding this rare lesion is presented. (C) 1997 by The Society of Thor
acic Surgeons.