Surgical repair of a giant congenital right atrial aneurysm: a case report
- PDF / 1,610,227 Bytes
- 5 Pages / 595.276 x 793.701 pts Page_size
- 17 Downloads / 176 Views
CASE REPORT
Open Access
Surgical repair of a giant congenital right atrial aneurysm: a case report Karolis Jonavicius1*, Arturas Lipnevicius2, Rita Sudikiene2, Edvardas Zurauskas3, Virgilijus Lebetkevicius2 and Virgilijus Tarutis2
Abstract Giant congenital right atrial aneurysms are rare defects of the heart. Though usually asymptomatic, they can be potentially life-threatening. Major risks include heart failure, supraventricular arrhythmias, rupture of the wall of the aneurysm. This defect is usually diagnosed incidentally. It is commonly found when transthoracic echocardiography or chest X-ray is performed. In some cases computed tomography or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging is needed to establish the diagnosis. Potential therapeutic options include surgery, catheter ablation and conservative follow-up. Currently preferred method for correcting this defect is surgical excision of the aneurysm, when surgical indications are met. In this article we describe a successful aneurysmectomy performed on a 16-month old female infant, who at the time of hospitalization presented with severe heart failure and symptoms of cardiac tamponade. Keywords: Congenital right atrial aneurysm, Atrial dilatation, Heart defects
Background Giant congenital aneurysms of the right atrium are very rare. Binder et al. reported in 2000 that from 1955 to 1998 only 60 cases of congenital enlargement of the right atrium were described in literature [1]. It can mimic all heart defects in which there is an enlargement of the right atrium such as Ebstein’s anomaly, partial anomalous pulmonary vein return, pericardial cyst or tumours of the heart [2, 3]. The diagnosis can be suspected and/or confirmed by initial transthoracic echocardiography and chest X-ray [4]. Computed tomography or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging may help distinguishing an aneurysm from cardiac tumour. Though usually discovered by accident right atrial aneurysms are potentially lethal. Binder at al. reported 5 % of deaths associated with unoperated congenital enlargement of the right atrium [1]. Major risks related giant congenital right atrial aneurysms include supraventricular arrhythmias, thrombosis, and severe atrial dilatation [1, 5–7]. In our article we present a rare case of this anomaly presenting as a tamponade, which we treated with and an complex aneurysmectomy complicated by * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Faculty of Medicine Centre of Cardiac Surgery, Vilnius University, Santariskiu g. 2, Vilnius 08661, Lithuania Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
an unexpected anatomical anomalyof the right coronary artery. Case report
A 16-month old Caucasian girl (weight 12 kg, height 95 cm, body surface area (BSA) – 0.56 m2) with a diagnosis of right atrial aneurysm (RAA) was transferred to our clinic. She was diagnosed with RAA at the age of two months. At that time, a computed tomography scan showed a 3.9x3.4x3.4 cm cavity directly connected to the right atrium (RA) (Fig. 1). Parents declined surgical treatment. At the ti
Data Loading...
