title: Left atrial appendage collapse as a sole feature of cardiac tamponade after cardiac surgery: a case report.
abstract: We report on a postoperative patient with cardiac tamponade caused by posteriorly localized pericardial effusion. In this case, transthoracic echocardiography only suggested mild left atrial compression. However, transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated significant collapse of the left atrial appendage that completely disappeared after pericardial drainage. The left atrial appendage collapse should be a valuable diagnostic sign in this setting. Transesophageal echocardiography would surely be valuable in diagnosing postoperative cardiac tamponade as a result of localized effusion when clinical symptoms and transthoracic echocardiographic findings are atypical.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, National Cardiovascular Center, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuhiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamano
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakatani
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Takahisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Azuma
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yaku
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsubara
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D020517:Atrial Appendage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002305:Cardiac Tamponade / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014463:Ultrasonography