A short recurrence time of left atrial myxoma: case report and literature review

Background: Recurrence of sporadic cardiac myxoma remains unusual but the seriousness of the situation justifies the realization of a surgical resection as complete as possible with post-operative clinical and echocargdiographic monitoring.

Case presentation: We recall the case of myxoma of the left atriumin a  64-year-old women  complicated by functional mitral stenosis and heart failure. She underwent urgent heart surgery, during which a friable tumor attached by a sessile base to the anterior atrial septum was removed. The postoperative effects were complicated by a pulmonary embolism. Eight months later, the patient consulted for exertional dyspnea with an echocardiographic image in favor of a recurrence of myxoma of the left atrium.

Conclusion:  Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain such recurrence, the most avoidable remain incomplete surgical resection and Implantation of embolic fragments of the original tumor in the myocardium  due to a previous surgery.