Simple home-made suction device to aid excision of friable atrial myxoma.

摘要

Atrial myxoma, especially the papillary subtype, is known to be friable and gelatinous. Manipulation of an atrial myxoma during surgery can be very difficult, and not uncommonly results in fragmention and embolization of part of the tumor. The conventional method using a metallic spoon to manipulate the tumor is widely practiced because alternatives are sparse. We describe a novel home-made suction device to aid the excision of friable atrial myxomas.