Rare diagnosis of fibrous cardiac diverticulum in an adult followed by urgent surgical intervention

Abstract

We describe the case of a 59-year old male patient with an acute onset of chest pain who was admitted to our unit with a suspected rupture of the left ventricle pseudoaneurysm, compressing the left atrium and the ascending aorta. Our urgent surgical intervention caused us to reject our initial diagnosis and revealed a cardiac diverticulum arising from the left ventricle outflow tract, spreading to the sub-valvular area compressing the left atrium, the ascending aorta and the pulmonary trunk, and compromising the aortic and mitral valve, causing moderate regurgitation. We removed the defect and replaced the aortic valve, eliminating the compression of the left atrium, aorta and pulmonary trunk. This article discusses the surgical technique for treating this ventricular diverticulum, its aetiology and the possible differential diagnosis in this case. © 2012 The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.