Abstract
Congenital pericardial defect is a comparatively unusual condition and to date only about 100 cases have been reported_ in Japan. Most cases are asymptomatic and found by chance at thoracotomy, or at autopsy.
Recently we experienced a case in which a congenital partial pericardial defect was suspected from the resuts of two-dimensional echocardiography and pericardioplasty was performed.
A 21-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of chest pain. He had pericarditis at 9 years of age.
The chest x-ray film revealed a prominence in the 2nd arch of the left heart border, and also the prominent part was suggested to be left atrial appendage by two-dimensional echocardiography. We confirmed the presence of a left atrial appendage by pulmonary arteriography and recognized the abnormal prominence along segments 1 and 2 of the diastole on left ventriculogram.
From the above findings, a diagnosis of a congenital partial pericardial defect was made.
Formerly, a diagnosis of this condition was made by using the method of artificial pneumothorax, but this technique was an invasive and painful one.
From our study it appears that two-dimensional echocardiography and cardiovasculography may be the beneficial alternative techniques for the diagnosis of congenital pericardial defect.
