CLINICAL CASES   

Chirurgia 2009 February;22(1):31-4

Copyright © 2009 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Congenital absence of the left pericardium associated with sinus venosus defect in a deaf-mute patient

Darwazah A. K. ¹, El Sayed M. H. ², Yosri A. ¹, Ghoneim A. ¹

¹ Heliopolis Cardiac Centre, Cairo, Egypt 2 Cardiology Department, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Complete absence of the left pericardium is a rare condition. The association with sinus venosus defect have been reported previously. Most cases are asymptomatic and require no surgical intervention. We report a case of congenital agenesis of left pericardium diagnosed intraoperatively during repair of sinus venosus defect associated with anomalous upper right pulmonary vein draining into SVC. From the above case, we believe that careful evaluation of symptoms together with features related to leftward displacement of the heart seen on x-ray and echocardiography can diagnose such condition preoperatively.