[Cardiac herniation and torsion after transpericardial pneumonectomy]

Abstract

This article presents the case of a 43 year old woman with right-sided lung cancer. She underwent transpericardial pneumonectomy. After an uneventfull surgery, the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit for postoperative monitoring. She was hemodynamically stable and had already been extubated in the OR.On postoperative chest X‑ray a mediastinal shift to the operated side as well as a herniation of the heart into the right chest cavity was detected. While the patient remained hemodynamically stable a computed tomography of the chest was performed which confirmed the diagnosis of cardiac herniation and torsion. The lady underwent rethoracotomy the following day where the heart was repositioned and the pericardial defect was closed. She made an uneventfull recovery.Five years after the pneumonectomy she remains well and is without relapse of lung cancer.Mechanism for cardiac herniation and torsion, the clinical presentation and the typical radiologic signs are discussed. However, the clue to early diagnosis is a high index of clinical suspicion.It is highlighted that a hemodynamically unstable patient under these circumstances demands urgent rethoracotomy.

Keywords: Cardiac; Heart; Herniation; Pneumonectomy; Torsion.