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Ann Thorac Surg 1999;68:628
© 1999 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

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Correspondence

Video-assisted minimal access in excision of left atrial myxoma

^a Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, St. Mary’s Hospital, Praed St, London W2 1NY England, United Kingdom

To the Editor

I enjoyed the article on minimally invasive removal of left atrial myoma by Ko and associates [1], but I am afraid I may have missed the point. Akins, in his article in the same issue of the Annals [2], demonstrates very nicely that you can achieve full cardiac exposure through a full sternotomy using a small skin incision that is only 2 cm longer than the one Ko and associates describe. The length of time on cardiopulmonary bypass required to remove these tumors is very long and I suspect will negate any clinical benefit from avoiding sternotomy in these patients. This then relegates the approach to a cosmetic issue, which is a triumph of technique over common sense. Minimal access surgery should not compromise other aspects of cardiac operations that have potential morbidity. I share the view of Akins that an extra inch can make all the difference.

References

1. Ko P.-J., Chang C.-H., Lin P.J., et al. Video-assisted minimal access in excision of left atrial myoma. Ann Thorac Surg 1998;66:1301-1305.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. Akins C.W. Full sternotomy through a minimally invasive incision. Ann Thorac Surg 1998;66:1429-1430.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Jonathan R. Anderson Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Anderson, J. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Anderson, J. R.