title: [Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy in patients with recurrent pericardial effusion].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recurrent symptomatic pericardial effusion can complicate different cardiac and extracardiac diseases. When recurrent pericardial effusion after drainage with conventional catheter techniques occurred the creation of a pericardial window by open surgery used to be the unique treatment available until the recent development of percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this paper is to review our initial experience with percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy for the treatment of patients with recurrent pericardial effusion.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five patients with recurrent pericardial effusion have been treated with percutaneous pericardiotomy until now. Four patients had malignant pericardial effusion secondary to metastasis of extracardiac tumors, in one patient recurrent pericardial effusion was idiopathic. In all patients percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy was performed with a pediatric valvuloplasty balloon catheter, through a subxiphoid approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Successful drainage and balloon pericardiotomy was achieved in all patients without severe complications. In all cases only one pericardial site was dilated. Minor complications were registered, which included mainly mild pleural effusion occurring in all patients with spontaneous resolution. During a mean follow-up period of 8.6 6.5 months (range 2 to 18 months) there were no recurrences of effusion or tamponade. Two patients died, 1 month and 9 months after the procedure, due to their malignant condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy is an easy and useful technique to manage patients with large recurrent pericardial effusion with a low r
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Hemodinámica y Cardiología Intervencionista, Servicio de Cardiología, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis Felipe
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Navarro Del Amo
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Córdoba Polo
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orejas Orejas
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: López Fernández
authors.forename: Moshen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohandes
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iñíguez Romo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D021721:Balloon Occlusion; D002404:Catheterization; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000601:surgery*; D010492:Pericardiectomy / Q000379:methods*; D012008:Recurrence
vernacular_title: Pericardiotomía percutánea con balón en pacientes con derrame pericárdico recurrente.