Systemic embolisation as presentation and recurrence of cardiac myxoma two years after surgery

Primary cardiac tumours are rare when compared with metastatic involvement. The majority of primary cardiac tumours are benign and in adults the majority of these masses are myxomas. The treatment is surgical removal because of the risk of embolisation and/or cardiovascular complications. We describe a female presenting with systemic embolisation and recurrence of cardiac myxoma after surgery. Recurrence of myxoma is rare after surgery in case of solitary tumours but more frequent in patients with familial myxomas in association with the Carney complex. Genetic analysis revealed a mutation in the PRKAR1A gene that has never been described before. (Neth Heart J 2010;18:499502.).