Acute Marginal Artery Laceration as a Complication of Pericardiocentesis.

The safety of pericardiocentesis as a therapy for cardiac tamponade has improved since the advent of echocardiography-guided pericardiocentesis. The most life-threatening, albeit rare, complication is injury to the coronary vessels or ventricular wall resulting in recurrent tamponade. We present a rare case of acute marginal artery laceration resulting from pericardiocentesis.

A Rare Case of an Ectopic Liver Presenting as Right Atrial Mass.

Ectopic liver tissue is commonly observed in the abdominal cavity in adjacent organs. Extension of hepatic tissue into the intrathoracic cavity is rarely reported. We present the case of a 46-year-old woman with a 2.

A rare case of simultaneous pulmonary and paradoxical emboli with a thrombus straddling a patent foramen ovale.

Background: Paradoxical embolism is a rare event and the exact contribution of patent foramen ovale in stroke is unclear. Intracardiac thrombi or 'embolus-in-transit' are associated with high mortality. Acutely elevated pulmonary arterial pressure due to pulmonary embolism or Valsalva maneuver make foramen ovale patent and promote right to left migration of intraatrial clot.

Postoperative cardiac tamponade in the modern surgical era.

Background: Pericardial effusions resulting in cardiac tamponade (CT) are uncommon after open heart surgery (OHS) and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Characteristics and outcomes of patients who develop postoperative CT are poorly defined. Our objective was to further analyze the population at risk for developing postoperative CT, identify potential perioperative and surgical risk factors, and evaluate the impact of CT on patient outcomes.