A
Giant, Symptomatic Pericardial Cyst in a 54 Year Old Women
|
A 54 year old women
consulted her general practitioner because of general weakness, cough,
and left sided chest pain. A radiograph of the chest was obtained,
demonstrating a large left sided paracardiac mass resembling left
ventricular aneurysm (Figure 1). However, a 12 lead ECG
obtained at rest was normal. The patient was referred to
echocardiography, where a large paracardiac cyst was found (Figure
2). Echocardiography of the heart was normal. Cardiovascular
magnetic resonance (CMR) revealed a signal intense large paracardiac
cyst (T2 weighted spin echo imaging, Figure 3, Figure
4) with and low signal intensity on T1 weighted Turbo Spin Echo (not
shown), highly consistent with the diagnosis of pericardial cyst, later
confirmed by pathology. The cyst was removed by thoracoscopy. This
operation was made more difficult by the course of the left phrenic
nerve along the anterolateral circumference of the pericardial cyst. In
the midterm follow-up of 3 months, no recurrence of the cyst was
observed on conventional chest radiology neither was chest pain reported
by the patient or left diaphragm paresis noted.
|
Comments
|
Usually, cysts positioned
anterolaterally to the heart are congenital pericardial ("spring
water") cysts; however, pericardial cysts are more commonly found
at the right costophrenic angle (1) and must be differentiated from
bronchogenic cysts, which are usually smaller and located more in the
posterior mediastinum. Many other diagnoses have do be considered in a
given patient, including cystic teratomas, cystic neurogenic tumors,
thymic cysts, aneurysms, and pseudoaneurysms.
|
In general, congenital
pericardial cysts cause no symptoms at all and are only very rarely a
cause of serious cardiovascular complications, such as acute right-sided
heart failure due to hemorrhage into a pericardial cyst (2).
|
If symptoms occur,
variate cures are suggested in the literature including punction of the
cyst without (3) or with subsequent ethanol sclerosis (4) or with
injection of contrast media (5), open chest surgery (6), and
thoracoscopic resection (7). The optimal therapeutic approach is
dependent on local expertise; intuitively however, given the low risk
inherent to the natural course of even large pericardial cysts, one may
favour referral to physicians capable to perform minimally invasive
surgical interventions.
|
Usually, clinical
examination, a plain chest radiograph and echocardiography are
sufficient for clinical decision making. In certain cases however,
physicians may prefer to employ more advanced imaging modalities such as
MRI, which, by its inherent capabilities to characterize tissues and
fluids in the human body, may be helpful in the differential diagnosis
of thoracic tumors and cysts (8,9).
|
Figures:
|
Figure
1: Plain chest radiograph demonstrating a large paracardial mass.
|
|
|
Figure
2: Echocardiogram: left ventricle is shown on the left (* denotes
the left ventricle), the paracardiac cyst is visible as a paracardiac
signal void large sac located laterally of the left ventricle.
|
|
|
Figure
3: Sagittal T2 weighted ECG and respiratory triggered turbo spin
echo sequence demonstrating signal intense large, "air bag
shaped" cyst in the anterior and mid portion of left hemithorax.
|
|
|
Figure
4: Transverse T2 weighted ECG and respiratory triggered turbo SE
sequence demonstrating signal intense cyst in the anterior and mid
portion of left hemithorax. RVOT=right ventr outflow tract, RA=right
atrium, LV=left ventricle
|
|
|
References:
|
Feigin D,
Fenoglio, McAllister H et al. Pericardial cysts: A radiologic-pathologic
correlation and review. Radiology 1977;125:15-19. |
Borges AC; Gellert
K; Dietel M; Baumann G; Witt C. Acute right-sided heart failure due to
hemorrhage into a pericardial cyst. Ann Thorac Surg 1997, 63(3) p845-7. |
Satur CM; Hsin MK;
Dussek JE. Giant pericardial cysts. Ann Thorac Surg 1996; 61:208-10. |
Kinoshita Y;
Shimada T; Murakami Y; Sano K; Tanabe K; Ishinaga Y; Kato H; Murakami R.
Ethanol sclerosis can be a safe and useful treatment for pericardial
cyst. Clin Cardiol 1996;19:833-5. |
Fuyuno G;
Kobayashi R; Iga R; Nomori H; Kodera K; Morinaga S. Cyst puncture and
injection of contrast medium for diagnosis and treatment of pericardial
cyst. Nippon Kyobu Shikkan Gakkai Zasshi 1994; 32:1038-42.: |
Abad C; Rey A;
Feijoo J; Gonzalez G; Martin-Suarez J. Pericardial cyst. Surgical
resection in two symptomatic cases. J Cardiovasc Surg 1996;37:199-202 |
Weder W; Klotz HP;
von Segesser L; Largiader F. Thoracoscopic resection of a
pericardial cyst: a case report . J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
1994;107:313-4. |
Kataoka K;
Matsuura M; Seno N. Study of cystic mediastinal lesions--diagnostic
usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging. Nippon Kyobu Geka Gakkai
Zasshi 1995, 43(4) p438-45 |
U. Hoffmann, S.
Globits, H. Frank. Cardiac and paracardiac masses. Current opinion on
diagnostic evaluation by magnetic resonance imaging. Eur Heart J
1998;19:553-563. |
|
|
|
|