Congenital absence of left pericardium simulating tumor of the anterior mediastinum
Miotto, H.C.; Braga, M.A.; de Oliveira, O.C.; Santiago, R.L.; Barbosa, M.R.; Fantini, F.A.; Gontijo Filho, B.; Peredo, M.O.
Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia 56(1): 65-68
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0066-782X PMID: 1872713 Document Number: 377566
The authors report a case of a patient presenting atypical dyspnea symptom. The physical examination, the chest roentgenogram and EKG were abnormal; the echocardiogram showed an abnormal mass compressing the outflow tract of the right ventricle (RV). These data were confirmed by a computerized tomography. The cardiac catheterization showed a heart deviation to the left and a RV outflow tract gradient of 10 mmHg. Consequently a surgery was necessary. The surgical findings presented an absence of the left pericardium and no tumor was found. This is a rare entity that may be misdiagnosed as other heart diseases but this is the first case in which a tumor of the anterior mediastinum was suspected.