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CASE REPORT article

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. Cardiovascular Surgery
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1483395
This article is part of the Research Topic Case Reports in Heart Surgery: 2024 View all 9 articles

Case Report: Late Presentation Post Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Pericardial Effusion heralding Mediastinitis with Tracheocutaneous Fistula

Provisionally accepted
Muhammad Idu Muhammad Idu *Chiw Yeh Lim Chiw Yeh Lim Kim Chai Chua Kim Chai Chua
  • National Heart Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Post coronary artery bypass surgery pericardial effusions are typically self-limiting but may rarely be significant causing pericardial tamponade. We describe a case of late postoperative pericardial effusion that required pericardiocentesis and subsequent readmission for mediastinitis with the added complication of tracheocutaneous fistula. Our case report is the first reported instance of pericardial tamponade heralding the onset of mediastinitis. It also describes the rare complication of tracheocutaneous fistula that can accompany mediastinitis.

    Keywords: case report, Post-CABG Pericardial effusion, Mediastinitis, tracheocutaneous fistula, Deep sternal wound infection (DSWI)

    Received: 30 Sep 2024; Accepted: 27 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Idu, Lim and Chua. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Muhammad Idu, National Heart Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

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