The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 52, 557-559, Copyright © 1991 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Pericardial mass mimicking constrictive pericarditis
WH Hartl, E Kreuzer, E Reuschel-Janetschek, D Schmidt and B Reichart
Department of Cardiac Surgery, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Federal Republic of Germany.
Persistent pericardial hematoma due to blunt chest trauma is extremely
rare. We report a case of constricted myocardium resulting from a large,
partially organized hematoma in the right cardiophrenic angle. The hematoma
was assumed to be caused by an occupational accident 17 years before
diagnosis. Constriction could only be controlled by complete removal of the
fibrous posterior capsule of the hematoma, which covered the epicardium of
the right heart.