Excision of a Left Atrial Myxoma Using a Minimally Invasive Approach -Now Become a Possible Standard Procedure: A Case Report

The most common primary cardiac tumor is myxoma. Approximately more than 75% of myxomas originate in the left atrium, either at the fossa ovalis border of the interatrial septum or at the mitral annulus. Myxoma is the most common benign tumor accounting for 50-70% of all primary benign tumors of the heart. Transthoracic echocardiography is the diagnostic tool for cardiac myxoma. Surgical excision or resection is the mainstay of treatment because of high risk of systemic embolization and pulmonary edema due to mitral valve (MV) obstruction. Traditionally, median sternotomy is the standard procedure but in the recent era, removal of cardiac myxoma via minimally invasive approach has shown to be a safe and feasible technique with some advantages, including less bleeding, minimum postoperative pain, less scar, faster recovery and improved postoperative quality of life.