Pericardial agenesis is a rare congenital anomaly found predominantly in men, and its complete form is extremely rare and difficult to diagnose. This report describes the case of a pregnant patient with complete pericardial agenesis in which mode of delivery and sterilization raised debate among specialists.
Pericardium/agenesis; Pericardioectomy; Echocardiography/methods; Gestation; Parturition
| Complete Agenesis | Partial Agenesis | |
|---|---|---|
| Chest radiography | ||
| Levoposition of the heart | + | +/- |
| Loss of the right cardiac border | + | +/- |
| Prominent left cardiac border | +/- | + |
| Interposition of the lung between the aorta and the main pulmonary artery | + | +/- |
| Interposition of the lung between the diaphragm and the heart | +/- | - |
| Prominent main pulmonary artery | + | +/- |
| Echocardiography | ||
| Unusual acoustic windows | + | +/- |
| Cardiac hypermobility | + | - |
| Swinging heart motion | + | - |
| "Tear drop" appearance | + | - |
| Regional left ventricular bulging | - | + |
| Dilated left atrial appendage | - | + |
| Paradoxal interventricular septal motion | + | +/- |
| Right ventricular dilatation | + | +/- |
| Tricuspid regurgitation | + | +/- |
| Magnetic resonance imaging of the chest | ||
| Unusual displacement of the heart | + | - |
| Absence of pericardium between tissue and fat | + | + |
| Interposition of the lung between the heart and the diaphragm | - | +/- |
| Interposition of the lung between the aorta and the main pulmonary artery | +/- | +/- |
| Cardiac wall notch | - | +/- |
| Cardiac herniation | - | +/- |
| Left lung hypoplasia | +/- | +/- |
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