title: Surgical management of an aneurysm of the left atrial appendage to prevent potential sequelae.
abstract: An aneurysm of the left atrial appendage is an extremely rare anomaly that is commonly associated with supraventricular arrhythmia, compression of the coronary arteries, intracardiac thrombus and pulmonary venous stenosis. This condition may be caused by congenital dysplasia of the musculi pectinati and is usually diagnosed in the second to fourth decades of life. We report the surgical management of an asymptomatic 9-year old girl with this anomaly. She was referred to us because of abnormal chest X-ray findings, and investigation revealed an aneurysm of the left atrial appendage. As this condition may have potentially fatal complications, the aneurysm was completely resected under cardiac arrest with cardiopulmonary bypass to prevent recurrence and thrombus formation. We suggest that resection of an aneurysm of the left atrial appendage under cardiac arrest with cardiopulmonary bypass is a reasonable treatment option to prevent potential complications, particularly in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan. yo.nakai1025@gmail.com
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: Norikazu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mishima
mesh_terms: D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D020517:Atrial Appendage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006322:Heart Aneurysm / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006324:Heart Arrest, Induced; D006801:Humans; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Aneurysm; Congenital heart disease; Left atrial appendage