[Congenital ventricular diverticula. Presentation of 6 cases]

Congenital diverticulum of the heart is an unusual malformation. It is frequently associated with thoracic or abdominal midline alterations and also with various types of congenital heart disease. Complications of this anomaly are rupture, peripheral embolism and heart failure. Surgical management consists of resection of the diverticulum either as an isolated operation or at the time of correction of accompanying malformations. We present six cases of congenital diverticulum of the heart, four on the right ventricle and two on the left. In one patient with Fallot's tetralogy a diverticulum was found at necropsy; in two cases the underlying malformation was double outlet ventricle; one case had pulmonary artery stenosis and two did not have associated malformations.