Giant left atrial intrapericardial aneurysm: Noninvasive preoperative imaging

Congenital giant intrapericardial aneurysms of the left atrium are rare. A 17-year-old boy presented with paroxysmal episodes of palpitations, chest g ain, and dyspnea. A chest roentgenogram showed an enlarged left cardiac sil houette. Transthoracic echocardiography imaging showed an intrapericardial aneurysm of the left atrium. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging confirmed t he diagnosis and delineated adjacent structures to plan the surgical resect ion. We have found no previous reports of cases of diagnosis and preoperati ve assessment based solely on noninvasive imaging. (C) 2001 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.