title: Pulmonary venous flow in constrictive pericarditis.
abstract: A 35-year-old white female patient presented with radiation-induced constrictive pericarditis. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography revealed a uniphasic diastolic flow pattern. This pulmonary flow pattern reverted to a normal biphasic systolic/diastolic profile immediately following radical pericardiectomy. This abnormal flow pattern was previously described as typical for restrictive cardiomyopathy. However, in this case it is most likely due to a marked decrease in left atrial compliance induced by the thick fibrous scar encasing the atrial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA.
authors.forename: O M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Shapira
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Connelley
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Aldea
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Shemin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010492:Pericardiectomy; D010494:Pericarditis, Constrictive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D011667:Pulmonary Veins / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow