Page 203 - Clinical Manual of Small Animal Endosurgery

Thoracoscopy 191

Fig. 6.15 Restrictive pericarditis (fibrosis) requires a subtotal
pericardiectomy.

Fig. 6.16 View after a subtotal pericardiectomy from caudal to cranial.
Note the small haemorrhagic areas on the epicardium, where adhesions to
the pericardium were resected.

Suction of effusion from the pericardial sac in the case of partial peri-
cardiectomy, and from the chest cavity at the end of the procedure in
cases of subtotal pericardiectomy, helps in preventing port-site ‘seromas’
that may occur in the first 12–24 h postoperatively (Fig. 6.17).
While a thoracoscopic partial (window) pericardiectomy is a relatively
simple procedure to perform, postoperative outcomes can sometimes
be disappointing. It is advisable to be cautious in prognostication for