[Congenital diverticulum of the right ventricle--Case report and review of the literature (author's transl)].

Diverticula of the right ventricle are extremely rare malformations of the heart. Nearly always they are congenital in origin and represent distinct anomalies from diverticula of the left ventricle both embryologically and clinically. Symptoms are caused by associated heart disease. Complications may arise from endocarditis, heart insufficiency or from rupture of the diverticulum which event almost always leads to death. Therapy consists in surgical removal of the diverticulum if the indication is given, at any rate in antibiotic prophylaxis for infective endocarditis. The prognosis of this malformation depends largely on the coexisting heart disease.