Pectoral hematoma mimicking a hemothorax in an octogenarian following aortic valve replacement--a near miss.

Open-heart surgery is associated with higher risk of complications in the octogenarians, specifically because of frailty of tissues and delayed healing secondary to various factors. Here, we present a near miss, where an 86-year-old lady underwent tissue aortic valve surgery complicated with formation of a large retro-pectoral hematoma, which on the initial chest X-ray mimicked a left hemothorax. This was successfully explored surgically and drained promptly within 8 h of the primary surgery. This is illustrated with chest radiographs. The case highlights one of the rare complications that we encountered in cardiac surgery of the elderly.