Gigantic intrapericardial bronchogenic cyst

Excerpt

A 39-year-old woman presented with a 10-day history of shortness of breath and chest pain radiating to the left shoulder which worsened during inspiration. The physical examination was unremarkable except for distension of the jugular veins. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a large intrapericardial cyst indenting the upper side of the left atrium, posterior to the ascending aorta and to the right of the pulmonary artery (Fig. 1a). The 128-slice computed tomography angiography showed a three-dimensional cyst of 5.7 × 5.3 × 4.7 cm (Fig. 1b). The cyst was exposed through a central thoracotomy (Fig. 1c) and contained 130 ml of sticky yellow fluid. The patient underwent a partial resection of the cyst because the cyst wall was firmly adherent to the atrium. Pathology confirmed the intrapericardial bronchogenic cyst (IBC, Fig. 1d).

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