Congenital Absence of the Pericardiumin a 16-Year-Oldmale With a Rare Pattern of Involvement



Mostafavi A¹ ; Khavandi S¹ ; Alizadesani Z² ; Khavandi S¹ ; Tabatabaie SA¹
Source: Iranian Heart Journal Published:2015

Abstract

The congenital pericardial defect is a rare malformation that can be complete or partial. This kind of defect is associated with other congenital abnormalities in 30-50% of patients. Whereas the complete absence of the pericardium is mostly asymptomatic and has little clinical importance, partial ones may cause chest pain or dyspnea and can be life-threatening through the strangulation of the cardiac structure. The defect is partial in most cases and is more often left-sided than right-sided. We report a case of the congenital absence of the pericardium around the right ventricle and the posterior portion of the left ventricle without evidence of cardiac chamber herniation or strangulation. © 2015, Iranian Heart Journal. All rights reserved.