Early Cardiac Tamponade Due to Tension Pneumopericardium After Bilateral Lung Transplantation

We report the case of a 42-year-old woman who developed severe hemodynamic instability with marked arterial pulsed pressure variation in the early course of bilateral lung transplantation. The diagnosis of tension pneumopericardium was made on Day 2 post-operatively based on chest X-ray and echocardiography. Transoesophageal echocardiography revealed both a cardiac tamponade and a right-to-left shunt via a patent foramen ovale. The treatment and mechanisms of these two rare complications are discussed.