"large myxomatous mass present in the left atrium consistent with an atypical myxoma which measures almost 13 cm and is obstructing outflow of the left atrium."Given my history of growing large liposarcomas (malignant fat cell tumors) that were previously described as the size of a softball (tumor circa 1993) and of a grapefruit (tumor circa 2001), the cardiologist reversed his initial "benign" diagnosis (which was active for about three minutes) and says this is a malignant heart tumor until proven otherwise.
My heart ultrasound was performed last Wednesday morning, 7/30/08. I was summoned back to the clinic for an urgent consultation with the cardiologist an hour later. He wanted to admit me to the hospital immediately and perform open-heart surgery the next day (resection of tumor and mitral valve replacement).
Thirteen centimeters. That's five inches. After reading the cardiologist's report, my GP told me that means a tumor the size of a baseball. In my heart. Translation: I think I'm fucked.
A softball, a grapefruit, and a hardball. Sounds like I have a passion for the national pastime with a healthy snack thrown in for good measure.
But I'm holding onto a thread of hope here. Our hearts are about the size of our fists. So how does a 5-inch tumor fit into one of four chambers in the heart? The geometry does not make sense to me. Could the doc have meant "13 mm" or "1.3 cm" rather than 13 cm? Hopefully, I'll find out tomorrow. And I hope to also hear from my doctor in NYC who actually deals with such things on a regular basis. At least I think he does.
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