Delayed Cardiac Herniation after Partial Thymectomy

Abstract

Cardiac herniation describes displacement of the heart from its expected location through a defect in the pericardium that is congenital, traumatic, or iatrogenic in origin. While rare, early recognition and treatment are essential to minimize morbidity and mortality. The authors present a case of cardiac herniation in a 29-year-old patient with a history of thymectomy who presented to the emergency department for chest pain. Coronary CT angiography and cardiac MRI played critical roles in the timely diagnosis of cardiac herniation by demonstrating waistlike ventricular narrowing. Intraoperative inspection confirmed a significant circumferential pericardial defect with protrusion of the left ventricle. Keywords: Cardiac, Pericardium, Complications Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2025.

Keywords: Cardiac; Complications; Pericardium.