Abstract
Cardiac fibromas are rare lesions which occur predominantly in infants and children. In a 2-week-old premature infant with progressive exertional dyspnea, a huge cardiac tumor (5.0 × 4.5 × 5.0 cm) obstructing the right ventricle was diagnosed. Due to tumor progression with resulting obstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), surgery became necessary at 6 months. The tumor was partially resected, creating a crater-like defect, and the resection margins were subsequently plicated. Histological examination confirmed infantile fibroma. The combination of early diagnosis, the time and opportunity for cardiac development and immediate excision once symptoms occur is supposed to improve survival.
Key words
Cardiac tumors - cardiac fibromas - surgery
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Dr. Gerhard Ziemer
Department of Thoracic, Cardiac and Vascular Surgery
University Hospital Tübingen
Hoppe-Seyler-Straße 3
72076 Tübingen
Germany
Phone: + 49 7 07 12 98 66 38
Fax: + 49 70 71 29 40 47
Email: gerhard.ziemer@med.uni-tuebingen.de
