Inversion of the left atrial appendage following cardiac surgery.
Inversion of the left atrial appendage is a rare complication after open-heart surgery. To our knowledge only 16 cases, besides that reported herein, have been described so far. Echocardiographically, the inverted left atrial appendage appears as a mass mimicking a thrombus, a vegetation or a tumor of the left atrium. Lack of awareness of this entity can result in a misdiagnosis and unnecessary procedures. The case here reported deals with an inverted left atrial appendage occurring in an infant after repair of an atrial septal defect.
Troise
Dario
D
Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Department, Giovanni XXIII Hospital, Bari, Italy. troised@tin.it
Errico
Gabriella
G
Ranieri
Leonardo
L
Civita
Antonio
A
Mele
Domenico
D
Lasaracina
Cosimina
C
Arciprete
Paolo
P
D020517:Atrial Appendage / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004374:Ductus Arteriosus, Patent / Q000601:surgery; D004452:Echocardiography; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology