Cardiac tumors in the pediatric population - surgical experience of four decades

Abstract

Introduction/Objective. Although cardiac tumors in the pediatric population are seldom findings, their occurrence is constant and with occasional variations. The purpose of this study is to show our experience with surgical options of these masses in two leading national university-level pediatric centers over four decades. Methods. This retrospective study is presenting a total number of 24 surgically treated pediatric patients who have been operated from 1988 to 2020. There were 16 children with primary masses and eight children with metastatic cardiac tumors. Two patients with tumor-like intracardiac masses were not included in the series but had been mentioned as diagnostic challenges. Our patients did not have cardiac transplantation options. Results. The average age of our patients was five and a half years and the most frequent operated tumor was the cardiac myxoma. Four children had neurological symptoms. There were two deaths, one in the primary tumor group and one metastatic patient misdiagnosed as a primary tumor in the early ages of our department. We had two recurrent cases, a girl with Carney complex and an infant with an extremely rare form of cardiac malignancy after a myxoma extraction. One child required a permanent pacemaker insertion. Conclusion. Although rare, the pediatric cardiac tumors can be a source of different life-threatening conditions and lifelong sequelae. Therefore, special considerations should be paid to the diagnostic and surgical modalities of their treatment.