Prenatal diagnosis of fetal cardiac right ventricular diverticulum disappearing at three months of age. A case report and literature review.

Congenital cardiac diverticula are transmural localized protrusions within the free wall of the ventricles. Right ventricular diverticula are rarely diagnosed during the fetal period, and due to their rarity, their natural history remains unclear. We present a case of prenatal diagnosis of right ventricular diverticulum at 22 weeks' gestation. No other pathological findings were detected, the pregnancy and delivery were uneventful, and the diverticulum disappeared before the age of 3 months. Echocardiography of the infant at 1 year of age revealed no cardiac diverticulum or any cardiac anomaly and showed normal heart function. Literature review of all cases published to date reveal good outcome of right ventricular diverticula. We suggest reassuring our patients about the good prognosis of this cardiac anomaly. (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.