Comprehensive noninvasive evaluation of left atrial myxomas using cardiac cine-computed tomography

This report describes the first clinical experience with ultrafast (cine) computed tomography for evaluating intracardiac masses. Two patients had a left atrial myxoma that was comprehensively described (size, location, site of attachment and relation to the mitral valve) preoperatively by cine-computed tomography. The information content of the studies exceeded that of two-dimensional echocardiography, and both patients were operated on without invasive cardiac catheterization. This early experience with a new minimally invasive high temporal and spatial resolution technology suggests that cine-computed tomography may be uniquely suited for precise evaluation of intraatrial masses.