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.

Congenital partial pericardial defect confirmed based on spontaneous pneumothorax: A case report and literature review

“…Pneumothorax in patients with a pericardial defect can cause cardiac deviation. There are two case reports of cardiac herniation through a large pericardial defect after pneumothorax [ 9 , 10 ]. In cases of a small defect, protruding of the atrial appendage or ventricle could be worsened by pneumothorax, which may lead to strangulation.…”

Right pneumothorax with congenital pericardial defect showed right atrium mimicking bulla in surgery

“…In cases where the pericardial defect is narrow, there have been reports of myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, angina pectoris, syncope, and sudden death [6][7][8][9][10]. A search using PubMed for case reports of pneumothorax with CPD resulted in 8 cases [4,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Nine cases, including the present case, are listed in Table 1.…”