A rare cause of chest pain: a partial congenital absence of the pericardium

Abstract

Figure 1: Interposition of the lung lingular parenchyma at the aortopulmonary window (arrow) in the computed tomography scan of the thorax with a contrast injection (B), visible as a hyperlucency at the chest X-ray (A), suggesting a congenital absence of the left pericardium. Figure 2: Intraoperative view. Preoperative view (A), the cardiac mass is markedly displaced in the left pleural space (arrowhead), and the upper lobe lingula is visible (asterisk). The operation was conducted under cardiopulmonary bypass on a beating heart. After repair (B), the PTFE patch is shown (arrowhead), filling the large pericardial defect. The left lung is no longer visible. Note the rightward shift of the cardiac mass to a central position in the mediastinum.