A constrictive pericarditis on oral steroid and immunosuppressant treated with bilateral anterolateral thoracotomy; report of a case

A successful case of pericardiectomy without median sternotomy for an immunosuppressive 59-year-old man with constrictive pericarditis (CP) was reported. He had a history of invasive thymoma, myasthenia gravis and pure red cell aplasia, and he was on oral steroid and immunosuppressant. Pericardiectomy was performed by the approach of bilateral anterolateral thoracotomy to avoid troubles due to median sternotomy under immunosuppression, and there was no postoperative infection such as mediastinitis. Bilateral anterolateral thoracotomy was considered to be useful for immunosuppressive cases.