| Abstrakt: |
This article presents the medical case report of a person with postpericardiotomy syndrome following thymectomy. A 10-year-old black female was recently diagnosed with myasthenia gravis when she presented with a six-to-eight-month history of progressive weakness, which was maximal in the facial musculature. She tolerated the procedure, which was done via a median sternotomy, and was discharged home on the fifth postoperative day on minimal pyridostigmine. Three weeks after surgery, she presented on follow-up complaining of fever of three days' duration, which was accompanied by chest pain when lying supine, orthopnea, and easy fatigability. Her general physical examination was remarkable for the presence of marked jugular vein distention even at a 45 degree angle. Postpericardiotomy syndrome is a common complication of cardiac surgical procedures which involve entry into the pericardium. The syndrome is characterized by the persistence or the appearance of fever, accompanied by signs and symptoms of pericardial, and often pleural, inflammation beyond the first post-operative week. |
