Clarence Crafoord and the first successful resection of a cardiac myxoma

Abstract

In 1954 Clarence Crafoord, the pioneer Swedish cardiovascular surgeon, removed an intraatrial myxoma for the first time. The patient was a 40-year-old woman with atypical symptoms of mitral stenosis. Follow-up 38 years later finds the patient alive and well. This case represents not only the first extirpation of a cardiac tumor on cardiopulmonary support but also the dawn of open cardiac surgery in Sweden. Others were soon to follow the lead of Crafoord and his team. However, their bold efforts prepared the way for the early diagnosis and facile extirpation of cardiac myxomas. Moreover, this group played an integral part in the development of safe, effective cardiopulmonary perfusion.