title: Long-term experience with pericardiectomy: analysis of 105 consecutive patients.
abstract: A retrospective analysis of the records of 105 patients who underwent pericardiectomy from 1983 to 1993 was performed. Primarily, 40 patients (38%) had tuberculosis, 16 patients (15%) a malignancy, 12 patients (11.4%) uremia, and 11 patients (10.5%) had rheumatic disorders. Pericardiectomy was performed through midline sternotomy in all cases, 9 of them required cardiopulmonary bypass. On operation, the anterior pericardium was excised parallel to the phrenic nerves on both side. The early mortality rate was 10.5% (11 patients). Mean follow-up time was 5.8 +/- 2.1 years, ranging from 1 year to 11 years. Actuarial survival of the patients at 1 year and 5 years were 81.1% +/- 6.8% and 63.5% +/- 8.2%, respectively. We conclude that pericardiectomy using midline sternotomy with or without cardiopulmonary bypass can be performed safely and can lead to good functional results and long-term survival.
authors.affiliation: Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arsan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mercan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarigül
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Atasoy
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demircin
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dogan
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pasaoğlu
authors.forename: A Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Bozer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D010492:Pericardiectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010494:Pericarditis, Constrictive / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology