%0 Journal Article %T Surgical management of cardiac tamponade: Is left anterior minithoracotomy really safe and effective? %J Journal of Emergency Practice and Trauma %I Kerman University of Medical Sciences %Z 2383-4544 %A Barone, Mirko %A Prioletta, Marco %A Cipollone, Giuseppe %A Di Nuzzo, Decio %A Camplese, Pierpaolo %A Mucilli, Felice %D 2017 %\ 07/01/2017 %V 3 %N 2 %P 53-58 %! Surgical management of cardiac tamponade: Is left anterior minithoracotomy really safe and effective? %K Cardiac tamponade %K Minithoracotomy %K Pericardial malignancies %K Overall survival %R 10.15171/jept.2017.04 %X Objective: Cardiac tamponade is a life-threatening clinical entity that requires an emergency treatment. Cardiac tamponade can be caused both by benign and malignant diseases. A variety of methods have been described for the treatment of these cases from needle-guided pericardiocentesis, balloon-based techniques to surgical pericardiotomy. The Authors report their experience in surgical management of cardiac tamponade and an exhaustive review of literature. Methods: This study involved 61 patients (37 males and 24 females) with an average age of 61.80 ± 16.32 years. All patients underwent emergency surgery due to the presence of cardiac tamponade. Results: Cardiac tamponade was caused by a benign disease in 57.40% of patients. In cancer patients group, lung cancer, breast cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma were the most common neoplasms (17-27, 87%). The average preoperative size of pericardial effusion at M-2D echocardiography was 30.15 ± 5.87 mm. Postoperative complications were observed in 11 patients (18%). The reoperation rate was 3.3% (2 patients) due to relapsed cardiac tamponade. 30-day mortality rate was 3.3%. Overall cumulative survival was 29.9 ± 20.1 months. Twenty-nine patients (47.5%) died during the follow up period. By dividing the population into two groups, group B (benign) and group M (malignant), there was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) in terms of survival. Conclusion: In conclusions, anterior minithoracotomy for surgical treatment of cardiac tamponade has to be held into account in patients both with benign diseases and malignancies. %U http://www.jept.ir/article_46324_008b9c2e05694c43e541552f40649b26.pdf