Cor Vasa 2002, 43(9):381-383

Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy as an alternative to pericardial fenestration

Josef Veselka^1,*, David Tesař², Tomáš Honěk¹, Jiří Neuwirth², Jaromír Schee³

¹ Oddělení srdeční chirurgie, Kardiologie

² Klinika zobrazovacích metod, Fakultní nemocnice Motol, Praha

³ Interní oddělení nemocnice s poliklinikou, Karlovy Vary, Česká republika

Patients with recurrent pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade can be treated either by repeat pericardiocentesis, possibly with pericardial sclerotization, or by surgery. An alternative to surgery is percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy. The authors report the case of a 56-year-old man with recurrent pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade as part the post-pericardiotomy syndrome, who underwent, as the definitive treatment, percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy with pericardial sac draining into the pleural cavity.

Keywords: Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy; Cardiac tamponade; Pericardial fenestration; Pericardiocentesis

Published: September 1, 2002  Show citation