Prevention of cardiac herniation and left artery descending obstruction in cases of extensive surgical pericardial window procedure.

The thoracotomy approach for pericardial window surgery was shown to be more effective at preventing effusion recurrence and the need for repeat surgery. However, cardiac herniation remains a common complication after extensive pericardial excision. This technical note describes a simple and effective technique to prevent potential heart herniation through the pericardial window and at the same time to avoid potential obstruction of the left artery descending.