title: [Liver transplantation and constrictive pericarditis].
abstract: We report the case of a patient with refractory ascitis due to a constrictive pericarditis who underwent a liver transplantation with the initial diagnosis of cryptogenic cirrhosis. The cardiac origin was suspected 5 months post surgery when a liver biopsy showed lesions in favor of a post sinusoidal shunt. The diagnosis was confirmed by the increased values of the right intra-ventricular pressures. We discuss the causes of the delay of the diagnosis and, in particular, the difficulty to interpret vascular liver lesions. Such vascular lesions were present on the needle biopsy performed prior to transplantation but wrongly interpreted as cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Transplantation Hépatique, Hôpital Pellegrin, Bordeaux.
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Bernard
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Le Metayer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Le Bail
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Balabaud
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saric
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bioulac-Sage
mesh_terms: D001201:Ascites / Q000209:etiology; D001706:Biopsy; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000601:surgery; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010494:Pericarditis, Constrictive / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017725:Ventricular Pressure