Successful surgical removal of a giant interventricular fibroma: surgical approach without ventriculotomy.

A 14-month-old boy was transported to our hospital by ambulance because of cardiopulmonary arrest after the sudden onset of convulsions. He was resuscitated and transthoracic echocardiography showed a giant interventricular tumor. The cause of this episode was thought to be ventricular arrhythmias induced by the tumor. At operation, an incision line was confirmed by direct ultrasonography. The heart was incised directly on the interventricular septum. The tumor was carefully dissected and completely removed without entering the ventricular cavity. Histologic analysis revealed a fibroma. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, and he remains well without episodes of heart failure or ventricular arrhythmia.