Operation for Chronic Constrictive Pericarditis: Do the Surgical Approach and Degree of Pericardial Resection Influence the Outcome Significantly?

Effects of pericardiectomy on early diastolic mitral annular velocity in patients with constrictive pericarditis

“…The extent of pericardiectomy is another important issue after pericardiectomy, as Culliford et al suggested that delayed improvement and persistent symptoms of constriction are most commonly the result of imperfect or incomplete decortication [6,27]. Chowdhury et al recently reported that Fig.…”

Constrictive pericarditis: etiology and cause-specific survival after pericardiectomy

“…Thus, even successful pericardiectomy does not always relieve their cardiac failure. Cardiac failure has been attributed to myocardial atrophy from prolonged constriction (2,5,38), residual constriction (2,39), or a concomitant myocardial process (5). However, myocardial atrophy secondary to constriction alone is uncommon, given the usually favorable outcome after pericardiectomy for idiopathic constriction.…”

A Clinico-pathological Conference on Constrictive Pericarditis Secondary to Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Case Report with Expert Commentary and Review of the Literature

“…Dean et al concluded that radical pericardiectomy was desirable, but not essential [18]. However, in a series of 27 patients, Culliford et al demonstrated a significant immediate and long-term benefit from the radical approach [19], and furthermore suggested that incomplete remission of symptoms was commonly related to incomplete excision of the pericardium. In a more recent and much larger study of 395 patients in India, which directly compared limited pericardiectomy against radical pericardiectomy in patients with constrictive pericarditis, Chowdury et al demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in perioperative mortality, lower post-operative low-output syndrome and an increase in long-term survival in the radical pericardiectomy group [20].…”