[Surgical treatment of pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle after myocardial infarction--a case report].

A 62-year-old woman had myocardial infarction with congestive heart failure. Follow-up chest X-rays showed progressive prominent bulging of the left cardiac silhouette. Echocardiography revealed a large echo-free space behind the posterior of the left ventricle. Magnetic resonance imaging and left ventriculogram confirmed the huge pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle. We performed the operation 4 months later the onset of the myocardial infarction. The pseudoaneurysm was opened under cardio-pulmonary bypass. It contained a large amount of old thrombi and communicated with the left ventricle through several orifices in the inferior left ventricular wall. The orifices were closed primarily with pledged mattress and running sutures. The aneurysmal wall was left unresected. The pathologic study showed no myocardial element nor endocardium in the aneurysmal wall. Postoperative course was uneventful, and she discharged from the hospital in a healthy condition.