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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Complications from myxoma
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Complications from myxoma
by TSM, Apr 19, 2000 12:00AM
Hello Doctor,
On Nov. 1999, I had an orange-sized myxoma(tumor) removed from my left atrium.Needless to say, I was feeling pretty lousy before the operation. By the way, I am a 36 yr. old female who has never been to the hospital for anything other than having babies. In Jan. 2000, I had an echo that showed "significant" mitral valve regurgitation. In April 2000, another echo showed progressing severe MV regurgitation(worse than Jan.),my mitral valves, especially the anterior leaflet are long and floppy, and that my left ventricle has started to dilate. A followup TEE confirmed all this. I am asymtomatic. My cardiologist thinks my mitral valves are basically stretched out because the tumor was so big it squeezed through the valves with each beat. He thinks the time for mitral valve repair surgery is now. He gave all this information to the cardiac surgeon(very respected from Mayo) that removed the myxoma and he seems to think my heart is still repairing itself. He says wait 4-6 months. My cardiologist says "no way" it's only going to get worse. The prospect of another open-heart surgery so soon is awful but from everything I have read here and other places that it's probably inevitable. I know the myxoma was so rare that neither Dr. has any precedent to follow. What is your opinion on the difference of opinion and the likelihood of another surgery? Thank you in advance, Terry
On Nov. 1999, I had an orange-sized myxoma(tumor) removed from my left atrium.Needless to say, I was feeling pretty lousy before the operation. By the way, I am a 36 yr. old female who has never been to the hospital for anything other than having babies. In Jan. 2000, I had an echo that showed "significant" mitral valve regurgitation. In April 2000, another echo showed progressing severe MV regurgitation(worse than Jan.),my mitral valves, especially the anterior leaflet are long and floppy, and that my left ventricle has started to dilate. A followup TEE confirmed all this. I am asymtomatic. My cardiologist thinks my mitral valves are basically stretched out because the tumor was so big it squeezed through the valves with each beat. He thinks the time for mitral valve repair surgery is now. He gave all this information to the cardiac surgeon(very respected from Mayo) that removed the myxoma and he seems to think my heart is still repairing itself. He says wait 4-6 months. My cardiologist says "no way" it's only going to get worse. The prospect of another open-heart surgery so soon is awful but from everything I have read here and other places that it's probably inevitable. I know the myxoma was so rare that neither Dr. has any precedent to follow. What is your opinion on the difference of opinion and the likelihood of another surgery? Thank you in advance, Terry
Doctor's Answer
by CCF CARDIO MD - CRC, Apr 19, 2000 12:00AM
Dear Terry,
That is a very interesting and unique case. I'm not sure exactly what "significant" means but it does sound like your mitral valve will need repair. There is some debate within the medical community about the timing of mitral repair but the general feeling is that earlier is better. 4-6 months does not seem like too long of a delay to me but I don't know your whole medical picture. If you are interested in getting a second opinion in Cleveland we would be happy to see you here. Call the number below and make an appointment with one of the "valve cardiologists" or your doctor could discuss your case directly with Dr. Cosgrove, who is a valve surgeon here, and make arrangements for your surgery to be done in Cleveland. Best wishes.
That is a very interesting and unique case. I'm not sure exactly what "significant" means but it does sound like your mitral valve will need repair. There is some debate within the medical community about the timing of mitral repair but the general feeling is that earlier is better. 4-6 months does not seem like too long of a delay to me but I don't know your whole medical picture. If you are interested in getting a second opinion in Cleveland we would be happy to see you here. Call the number below and make an appointment with one of the "valve cardiologists" or your doctor could discuss your case directly with Dr. Cosgrove, who is a valve surgeon here, and make arrangements for your surgery to be done in Cleveland. Best wishes.
