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Cardiac tamponade due to an iatrogenic pericardial-diaphragmatic hernia
Because of its ease, safety, and effectiveness, surgeons are increasingly using the subxiphoid approach to drain pericardial effusions and to insert epicardial pacemakers. Although we could find no previous reports of iatrogenic pericardial-diaphragmatic hernias in the literature, experience with a recent patient who developed this problem after a subxiphoid pericardial drainage suggests that it may become much more frequent. Physicians should strongly suspect this complication in patients with a triad of previous subxiphoid pericardial incision and signs of bowel obstruction and tamponade.
Because of its ease, safety, and effectiveness, surgeons are increasingly using the subxiphoid approach to drain pericardial effusions and to insert epicardial pacemakers. Although we could find no previous reports of iatrogenic pericardial-diaphragmatic hernias in the literature, experience with a recent patient who developed this problem after a subxiphoid pericardial drainage suggests that it may become much more frequent. Physicians should strongly suspect this complication in patients with a triad of previous subxiphoid pericardial incision and signs of bowel obstruction and tamponade.