Surgical resection of an intracardiac rhabdomyoma

There are only a few previous reports of intracardiac rhabdomyomas causing ventricular arrhythmias and near syncope. In this report we describe the su ccessful surgical resection of an intracardiac rhabdomyoma using cardiopulm onary bypass, blood cardioplegia,and hypothermia. Preoperative evaluation c onsisting of echocardiography, computed tomography (CT), magnet resonance i maging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) strongly suggested the presence of a symptomatic primary cardiac tumor projecting from the interv entricular septum into the right ventricle. (Ann Thorac Surg 2000;70:2156-8 ) (C) 2000 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.