SURGERY FOR CARDIAC MYXOMA - A 20-YEAR EXPERIENCE WITH LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP

Data on 32 consecutive patients undergoing resection of a cardiac myxo ma over a 20-year period (1971-1991) was analyzed. The mean age of the patients was 57 +/- 11 years (range 36 to 78). All myxomas were locat ed in the left atrium except one right ventricular tumor. Ten of the a trial resections were performed with only an endocardial cuff while a full thickness atrial septum cuff was removed in 21 cases. One patient , operated under emergency conditions, died 11 days later as a result of cardiac and pulmonary failure (hospital mortality 3.1 %). Late foll ow-up (mean 6.4 +/- 4.4 years) shows excellent results. All patients a re alive and well. No recurrences have been found. In this series, goo d long-term results were obtained by simple excision of cardiac myxoma s. This finding supports the theory that recurrence is mainly confined to patients with familial presentation and/or myxoma complex.