Left ventricular myxoma: report of a case

Although recent advances in echocardiography have made it easier to detect cardiac tumors, left ventricular myxomas are still rare and often not found until the patient presents with a history of syncopal episodes or systemic embolization. Left ventricular myxomas are usually benign and curable; however, unreliable excision of the myxoma due to poor visualization of the left ventricular cavity can result in recurrence. To prevent recurrence, it is necessary to select the most appropriate surgical approach to excise the myxoma completely. We report herein the case of a patient in whom surgical excision of a left ventricular myxoma arising from the posterior wall of the left ventricle was successfully performed.