Surgical resection of an intracardiac rhabdomyoma

There are only a few previous reports of intracardiac rhabdomyomas causing ventricular arrhythmias and near syncope. In this report we describe the successful surgical resection of an intracardiac rhabdomyoma using cardiopulmonary bypass, blood cardioplegia, and hypothermia. Preoperative evaluation consisting of echocardiography, computed tomography (CT), magnet resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) strongly suggested the presence of a symptomatic primary cardiac tumor projecting from the interventricular septum into the right ventricle.