Epicardial cyst. Report of a case with successful resection.

An Epicardial Mesothelial Cyst Attached to the Ascending Aorta

“…The positions of the mesothelial cysts are important when discussing these theories. We found that the cysts were present in the upper anterior part of the pericardial sac in front of the aortic root in four of ten cases, including our present case [Beirne 1954;Komeda 1985;Scrofani 2002] (Table). Interestingly, although they existed at the same place inside the pericardial sac of the heart, they attached to different parts of the heart; to the right atrium and right ventricle [Komeda 1985], to the right atrium [Scrofani 2002], to the pulmonary trunk [Beirne 1954], and to the ascending aorta in our case.…”

“…An epicardial mesothelial cyst, which can be defined as a mesothelial cyst attached to the epicardium surrounding the heart and great vessels inside the pericardial sac, is an extremely rare condition [Omeroglu 2004] . To our knowledge, only nine cases with a clear pathological documentation of mesothelial cell origin have been reported to date [Beirne 1954;Debus 2001;Edwards 1972;Hatemi 2012;Komeda 1985;Omeroglu 2004;Ozasa 1991;Scrofani 2002]. Epicardial cysts are histologically identical to pericardial mesothelial cysts, which are much more common.…”

“…Lambert's theory seems to be acceptable for the etiology of the epicardial cysts. Since two of ten cases were found in children [Debus 2001;Komeda 1985], it may be natural to speculate that this condition would be congenital rather than acquired.…”

“…We herein report a case of epicardial cyst, which was attached to the ascending aorta. To our knowledge, only nine cases with clear documentation of mesothelial cell origin have been reported to date [Beirne 1954;Debus 2001;Edwards 1972;Hatemi 2012;Komeda 1985;Omeroglu 2004;Ozasa 1991;Scrofani 2002] and the attachment to the ascending aorta has never been reported before.…”

Epicardial Cysts: Report of Two Rare Cases

“…Although many authors have reported several cases of pericardial cysts, the incidence of epicardial cysts originating directly from the epicardium is extremely low. Including the first report of Edwards and Ahmad, only 6 cases in total have been reported to date [Edwards 1972;Komeda 1985;Ozasa 1991;Scrofani 2002;Omeroglu 2004;Buyukates 2008]. We report herein 2 cases of multiloculated epicardial cysts that were successfully excised.…”