Primary Cardiac Tumors: A Twenty-Year Review

Twenty-five patients underwent resection of atrial tumors between 1970 and 1990. There were 14 primary cardiac tumors, consisting of 12 atrial myxomas, 1 angiosarcoma, and 1 fibrosarcoma. Eleven patients were excluded from echocardiographic follow-up; 7 of them had an atrial ball thrombus, and 4 had pericardial manifestations of malignant lymphomas. The remaining patients were routinely investigated by echocardiography. In 1 patient, myxoma was familial, and 2 patients had a myxoma syndrome with endocrine hyperactivity and lentiginosis. There were no operative deaths. The 2 patients with malignant tumors died three and sixteen months, respectively, after operation. All patients with atrial myxoma had follow-up by echocardiography up to eighteen years after operation with a mean follow-up of six and a half years. All patients are still alive and well. Myxoma recurred in 1 patient, detected by echocardiography on follow-up examination. Echocardiographic follow-up after myxoma resection is recommended for detection of late recurrence.