Background: Complete surgical excision is the only curative treatment for primary cardiac tumors. For wide excision, interatrial septal reconstruction (ISR) is commonly performed. We hypothesized that ISR may increase the risk of postoperative atrial tachyarrhythmia (AT) after surgical resection of cardiac myxoma.
Methods: After excluding patients with a history of cardiac surgery and concomitant procedures unrelated to tumor resection and those with AT or permanent pacemakers, we finally enrolled 272 adult patients who underwent benign cardiac tumor surgery from 1995 to 2021 at our institution. They were divided into the ISR (n=184) and non-ISR (n=88) groups. The primary outcome was postoperative new-onset AT.
Results: The study cohort predominantly consisted of women (66.2%), with a mean age of 57.2±13.6 years. The incidence of postoperative new-onset AT was 15.4%. No 30-day mortality or recurrence was observed. The cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross-clamping time were significantly longer in the ISR group than in the non-ISR group (p<0.001). The median duration of hospital stay of all patients was 6.0 days (interquartile range, 5.0-7.0 days), and no significant difference was observed between the 2 groups (p=0.329). ISR was not an independent predictor of new-onset AT (p=0.248). Male sex and hypertension were found to be independent predictors of new-onset AT.
Conclusion: ISR was not a significant predictor of postoperative new-onset AT. ISR might be a feasible and safe procedure for surgical resection of cardiac myxoma and should be considered if needed.
Keywords: Atrial tachyarrhythmia; Benign cardiac tumor; Interatrial septal reconstruction.