Congenital absence of the left pericardium with extreme intrathoracic displacement of the heart. Case report and review of the literature.
Large pericardial defects are exceptional and difficult to diagnose. A 62-year-old man underwent elective coronary surgery which was seriously complicated by the unexpected intrapleural position of the heart due to the absence of a large amount of pericardium on the left. It appeared retrospectively that the patient had presented typical signs of the malformation and these are described in detail.
Gersbach
P
P
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Bern, Inselspital, Switzerland.
Kaufmann
U
U
Althaus
U
U
D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010496:Pericardium / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery