JUAN CRESTANELLO: Welcome to the Cardiovascular Surgery Series, where we review the latest research in cardiovascular surgery from the Mayo Clinic in just two minutes. I am Dr. Juan Crestanello. I am a cardiac surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. We will discuss today the paper entitled "Outcomes of pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis following mediastinal irradiation." This paper was published in The Journal of Cardiac Surgery.

Constrictive pericarditis is a common long-term complication from mediastinal irradiation. The outcomes without treatment are poor. Data is limited on the outcomes of pericardiectomy after mediastinal irradiation. In this study, we reviewed 130 patients who had pericardiectomy after mediastinal irradiation during a 17-year period.

Operative mortality was, overall, 10%, but decrease over the study period to less than 5%. The median survival was six years, and it was not affected by the extent of the pericardial resection or by the need for concomitant procedures.

We conclude that pericardiectomy after mediastinal radiation can be performed with acceptable risk, but long-term outcomes remain poor due to their underlying cardiac disease and comorbidities. Thank you for listening to the Mayo Clinic Cardiovascular Surgery Series.