Methods: Data of 21 patients with intracardiac tumors (15 males, 6 females; median age 60.9 years; range 35 to 87 years) who underwent surgery between April 2006 and May 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were diagnosed preoperatively by transthoracic echocardiography and computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.

Results: The mean follow-up was 27.85 months. Of 21 patients, 12 had benign tumors and nine had malignant tumors. Of the benign tumors, nine were myxomas, one was an intramuscular lipoma, one was an interatrial septal lipoma, and one was a papillary fibroelastoma. Of the malignant tumors, eight were metastatic tumors and one was a primary tumor. Median sternotomy was performed in all patients to access the heart. Thrombi due to a cardiac mass were detected intraoperatively in some patients.

Conclusion: Our study results suggest a high-degree of diagnostic confusion between intracardiac thrombi and tumors. Therefore, metastatic cardiac tumors should be considered in patients with pleural or pericardial effusion of no other identified cause.