The short-term effect of pericardiectomy is to shift the in vivo left ventricular (LV) pressure-volume curve to the right. We studied nine weight-matched pairs of male guinea pigs 28 to 39 days (mean 35) after complete pericardiectomy or sham thoracotomy to determine the long-term effects of pericardiectomy on LV pressure-volume relations. Hemodynamic and in vitro LV pressure-volume data were c...

We studied the effects of the pericardium on diastolic left coronary pressure-flow relationships in heart-blocked and isolated canine preparations. In these preparations, the left and right coronary arteries were dilated with adenosine and perfused by means of a pressurized arterial reservoir. The diastolic left heart pressure (LHP) was controlled by the height of a reservoir connected to the l...

In a study of 30 consecutive patients with constrictive pericarditis diagnosed by clinical, radiological, and echocardiographic criteria 21 (70%) were found to have pulsatile hepatomegaly. The pulsations were felt clinically and confirmed by external hepatic recordings. These pulsations conformed almost identically to the jugular venous pulsations in the neck. The hepatic pulsations disappeared...

Postpericardiotomy syndrome (PPS) is a major cause of morbidity after cardiac surgery and may cause bypass graft closure and fatal cardiac tamponade. Treatment modalities include nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, diuresis, drainage, and pericardiectomy in severe cases. Usually the syndrome lasts weeks only, and persistence beyond six months is exceptional. We describe a 64-y...

Surgical management of symptomatic benign and malignant effusive pericarditis is often required. Twenty-two patients with medically recalcitrant effusive, nonconstrictive pericarditis underwent pericardial resection by a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical (VATS) technique (9 malignant, 13 benign). Pericardiectomy, resulting in complete drainage of the pericardial space and control of patient...

Constrictive pericarditis is a disease characterized by progressive pericardial fibrosis. If left untreated it can lead to progressive heart failure and can be severely disabling. Medical management with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in combination with colchicine is promising in the acute phase of the disease but for more chronic cases pericardiectomy offers the best chance for hemodyn...

A case of chronic constrictive uraemic pericarditis successfully treated by pericardectomy is reported together with the pre- and postoperative haemodynamic data.

The range of cardiac surgery in pregnancy has been extended from procedures such as mitral valvulotomy and repair of aortic coarctation to include a variety of 'open-heart' operations undertaken with the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass (Ueland, 1965; Zitnik, Brandenburg, Sheldon, and Wallace, 1969). Rheumatic and congenital lesions are the forms of heart disease most frequently encountered in pre...