Agnino Alfonso, Lanzone Alberto Maria, Spira Giuseppe, Anselmi Amedeo
Division of Minimally Invasive and Video-Assisted Cardiac Surgery, Cliniche Humanitas Gavazzeni, Humanitas University, Bergamo, Italy.
Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2018 Feb 1;26(2):357-359. doi: 10.1093/icvts/ivx290.
Echinococcal lesions rarely involve the heart; nonetheless, echinococcal cysts of the left ventricular myocardium often demand surgical treatment due to the risk of rupture and anaphylaxis. Herein, an echinococcal cyst of the anteroapical left ventricular wall was managed through small left anterior thoracotomy; repair was achieved under cardioplegic arrest (endoaortic balloon occlusion) with an uneventful course. We discuss the usefulness of such a less invasive approach for the depicted lesion (minimized manipulation of the heart and reduced surgical aggressiveness) and for other lesions involving the apical/lateral LV region.
