Surgical treatment and follow up for pediatric patients with primary cardiac tumors

Abstract

Objective To summarize the experience in surgical treatment of primary cardiac tumors in children. Methods Retrospective analysis of 13 children with primary cardiac tumors which were surgically treated in our department from June 1994 to March 2016. Among the 13 patients, 8 were boys and 5 were girls. The mean and standard deviation(range) of age was(4.85±4.61) years(5 days - 13 years). The diagnosis was identified by echocardiography and computed tomography before operation and by pathological diagnosis after operation. All patients were followed up after discharge. Results A number of 13 patients underwent surgical treatment. One patient died from cardiac failure after surgery. Histologic examination revealed rhabdomyoma in 8 patients, myxoma in 2 patients, fibroma in 2 patients, and rhabdomyosarcoma in 1 patient. All the remaining 12 patients followed up for(85.71±17.04) months(3-247 months), one patient with benign tumor was relapsed without tumor-related symptoms, the other patient with malignant tumor was relapsed and died from abandoning treatment. Others had good cardiac function and symptom improvement. Conclusion Primary cardiac tumors in children are mostly primarily benign. Tumors with different characteristics get different clinical symptoms and prognosis. Personalized therapy strategies need to be performed to achieve better outcomes. Key words: Heart neoplasms; Child; Cardiac surgical procedures; Follow-up