Life-Saving Resection of a Huge Intrapericardial Teratoma in a Newborn

Life-Saving Resection of a Huge Intrapericardial Teratoma in a Newborn

(Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Okinawa Prefectural Naha Hospital, Naha, Japan)

Tadao Kugai Yukihiro Takemura Nobuhiro Nagata

Intrapericardial teratomas are unusual tumors that often cause cardiorespiratory distress and might be lethal in the newborn. We described a case of neonate who was successfully treated by emergency surgery. A5-day-old female infant was referred for further evaluation of a fever and progressive cardiorespiratory distress. Chest X-ray showed a widened central silhouette. Echocardiogram and chest CT scanning demonstrated a 59×40mm mediastinal mass and the mass effect or massive pericardial effusion cause cardiac tamponade. After sternotomy, the tumor was found to have arisen from the anterior surface of the aortic root and 30ml of serosanguinous fluid were aspirated. The tumor was completely removed without any difficulty with cardiopulmonary bypass standby. The postoperative course was uneventful. Histologically, this tumor appeared to be a mature teratoma. The surgical resection was lifesaving.
　Jpn. J. Cardiovasc. Surg. 33: 407-409 (2004)