[Asymptomatic recurrence of a left auricular myxoma. Apropos of a case]

A case of asymptomatic recurrence, in a 23-year old female patient, of a left atrial myxoma surgically removed 7 years previously is reported. The initial tumour, revealed by lipothymias and progressive heart failure, had been diagnosed by TM-mode echocardiography. The myxoma had been entirely removed, together with part of the atrial septum around its pedicle. The recurrent tumour was discovered by chance during routine control echocardiography. Post-surgical recurrent cardiac myxomas are uncommon (5% of the cases), and they predominate in the left atrium, like the initial tumours. They develop more rapidly and may recur several times in succession, becoming increasingly aggressive and multiple, though most of them remain benign. They are thought to result from the proliferation of myxomatous cells in clusters disseminated within the cardiac walls. Echocardiography is the key to the diagnosis; it is also used for post-surgical follow-up.