Pericardiectomy for effusive constrictive pericarditis after heart transplantation.

The following is a case report of an unusual complication after heart transplantation. The patient was a 37-year-old man who underwent heart transplantation because of idiopathic cardiomyopathy. His postoperative course was complicated by cardiac tamponade, coagulopathy, and chronic constrictive pericarditis. After transplantation, he underwent three subsequent open-chest procedures: the first for tamponade, the second for Serratia mediastinitis, and the third for a pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis. Although constrictive pericarditis and pericardiectomy have been described following coronary bypass surgery and valve replacement, they have not yet been reported in a heart transplant recipient.