[Cardiac Tamponade After Left Upper Lobectomy:Report of Two Cases]

We report two rare cases of cardiac tamponade after left upper lobectomy. Case 1:A 76-year-old man underwent thoracoscopic left upper lobectomy and lymph node dissection for lung cancer. The patient suddenly developed cardiac tamponade the day after surgery. Emergency surgery was performed to stop bleeding and confirm the source of bleeding, and dark red pericardial fluid and hematoma were observed in the pericardial sac. There was no postoperative recurrence of cardiac tamponade. He died 1 year and 2 months after the operation. Case 2:A 77-year-old woman underwent thoracoscopic left upper lobectomy and lymph node dissection for lung cancer. The patient did well until the 6th postoperative day. On the 7th postoperative day, she complained of sudden severe back pain, immediately after which she lost consciousness and went into cardiopulmonary arrest. The echocardiography revealed cardiac tamponade, and emergency pericardiocentesis was performed. The patient died without circulatory improvement despite drainage of approximately 200 ml of bloody pericardial fluid. The pathological findings of autopsy revealed penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer at the descending aorta. We speculated that severe back pain caused the afterload of left ventricle and the increase in left atrial pressure through mitral regurgitation, which might result in a bleeding from the staple-line of superior pulmonary vein in the pericardium.