SURGICAL-TREATMENT FOR CARDIAC RHABDOMYOMAS IN CHILDREN

Cardiac rhabdomyomas are the most common cardiac tumor in children. Th ese tumors may cause obstruction to blood now, valvular insufficiency, and cardiac arrhythmias. We present two cases of cardiac rhabdomyomas in infants that were managed surgically and review the literature. Wi thout surgical intervention, the prognosis for symptomatic cardiac rha bdomyomas is dismal, with eventual death likely due to heart failure o r arrhythmias. As our two cases indicate, surgical treatment may impro ve this prognosis. Pediatric cardiac rhabdomyomas should be resected w hen the tumors cause hemodynamic compromise or cardiac arrhythmias.