title: Total absence of the pericardium incidentally found during surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax.
abstract: Congenital absence of the pericardium is a rare malformation which is often found incidentally. We report a case of pericardial absence which was found during surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax. Image analyses suggested that the pericardial absence was bilateral and total. These findings were overlooked on CT, preoperatively. Although rare, the possibility of asymptomatic pericardial absence should be kept in mind when observing the chest images before performing thoracic interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Saitama Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, 1981 Kamoda, Kawagoe, Saitama, 350-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Ato
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.affiliation: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Saitama Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, 1981 Kamoda, Kawagoe, Saitama, 350-8550, Japan. yotaro2008@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yotaro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.affiliation: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Saitama Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, 1981 Kamoda, Kawagoe, Saitama, 350-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Saitama Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, 1981 Kamoda, Kawagoe, Saitama, 350-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.affiliation: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Saitama Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, 1981 Kamoda, Kawagoe, Saitama, 350-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.affiliation: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Saitama Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, 1981 Kamoda, Kawagoe, Saitama, 350-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gika
authors.affiliation: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Saitama Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, 1981 Kamoda, Kawagoe, Saitama, 350-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakayama
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D008297:Male; D010496:Pericardium / Q000002:abnormalities*; D011030:Pneumothorax / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D013510:Pulmonary Surgical Procedures
keywords: Pericardial absence; Pneumothorax; Thoracic surgery