Second recurrence of familial atrial myxomas: mother and daughter simultaneously

Abstract

Sporadic cardiac myxomas rarely recur, however recurrence rates are higher in patients with a familial aggregation or Carney complex. Carney complex is characterised by multiple mucocutaneous lesions and accounts for up to two-thirds of familial cardiac myxomas. A second recurrence is very rare, even in the case of Carney complex. We report on two cases of recurrent cardiac myxoma, a mother and daughter, who concurrently presented with a second recurrence of atrial myxomas. the time interval between the first and second recurrence following surgery was four years in both. the possibility of repeat recurrence of cardiac myxomas demonstrates the importance of regular echocardiography to detect recurrence and to prevent the potential complications associated with cardiac myxomas. Family screening should be recommended for familial myxomas.