Cardiac autotransplant for surgical treatment of a malignant neoplasm

Because of their anatomic location, cardiac sarcomas often interfere with c ardiac function. Excision is considered to palliate the cardiac defect, but complete excision is often difficult owing to access, particularly in left atrial tumors. Incomplete resection results in tumor recurrence. To achiev e complete resection of a large left atrial sarcoma, we used the technique of cardiac explantation, extracorporeal resection of the tumor with cardiac reconstruction, and cardiac autotransplantation. (C) 1999 by The Society o f Thoracic Surgeons.