Right Atrial Myxoma

A TRIAL myxomas can be successfully removed.1-5 Apparently left atrial myxonlas are infrequent and those in the right atrium are approximately 25 per cent as common.6 Bahnson and Newman7 in 1953 reported the first removal of a right atrial myxoma and since that times 4 others have been operated upon. Ripstein8 in 1953 attempted unsuccessfully to remove a right atrial myxoma through the open right atrium under hypothermia; this tumor extended through the septum into the left atrium. Recently Coates and Drake5 reported the successful removal of a right atrial myxoma under open-heart conditions. This patient had a variable right-to-left shunt through a patent foramen ovale. Lyons and his group" were unsuccessful in removal of a similar tumor under open-heart surgery. They thought that death was due to a flabby myocardium and the production of total tricuspid insufficiency upon removal of the myxoma, which had previously caused tricuspid stenosis. Since myxomas of the atria can be successfully removed, it is important to diagnose the lesion correctly so that an otherwise fatal condition may be corrected and the patient restored to health.