Surgical treatment of cardiac myxoma and its complications

A total of 20 patients (15 women, five men) were operated on for cardiac myxoma. Their ages ranged from 17 to 74 (mean 56) years. Myxoma was located in the left atrium in 18 patients and in the right in two. Systemic embolism occurred in eight patients, causing cerebral infarction in three, ischaemia of the extremities in two, occlusion of the external carotid artery with cerebral infarction in one, myocardial infarction in one and pulmonary infarction in one. Five patients with severe congestive heart failure required emergency surgery. All myxomas were removed using cardiopulmonary bypass with excision of the attachment walls. Details are given of additional surgery performed on some of the patients. Two patients died, one from pulmonary insufficiency after emergency surgery and the other from an unrelated problem. The remaining 18 patients showed a good recovery and are doing well with no intracardiac recurrence, although one with cerebral infarction underwent clipping of an aneurysm, which was detected later in the infarcted area.