Long-Term Results of Surgical Treatment of Intracardiac Tumors. Effectiveness and Limitation of Surgical Treatment.

Twenty-five cases of intracardiac tumors were operated upon from 1975 through 1994. Twenty-four operative survivors were followed up. The follow-up period ranged from 2 months to 19 years with an average of 8 years. The histological diagnoses of the tumors were as follows: benign tumors 21 (myxoma 20, leiomyoma 1) and malignant tumors 4 (sarcoma 3, carcinoma 1). In 21 cases, tumors had cardiac origins, while there were four intracardiac tumors which had originated in other organs and extended transvenously to the intracardiac cavity (leiomyoma 1, sarcoma 2, carcinoma 1). The results of surgical treatment of intracardiac benign tumors were satisfactory, regardless of their origins and multiplicity, both in the short-term and in the long-term. On the other hand, the long term results for malignant intracardiac tumors were extremely poor, although their excision or resection had a beneficial effect on the hemodynamics in patients with congestive heart failure or cardiogenic shock.