[Malignant Pericardial Effusion Treated by a Subcutaneously Placed Port System;Report of a Case]

Pericardial effusion due to malignancy often needs drainage, however, it is difficult to repeat pericardiocentesis. We report a case of malignant pericardial effusion in a 55-year-old female, who had been diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer and treated with surgical resection and chemotherapy 2 years before. She developed multiple organ metastasis and suffered from dyspnea due to increasing pericardial effusion. We performed pericardiocentesis repeatedly, but the pericardial effusion continuously increased. Therefore, we inserted a drainage catheter into the pericardial space, which was connected to a subcutaneously placed port system. She was discharged from the hospital, but expired 12 days later. In the case of malignant pericardial effusion, subcutaneous placing of a port system may be safe and useful.