Varicose pericardial vein: An unusual cause of right paracardiac opacity

Cardiac Tamponade due to a Ruptured Solitary Mediastinal Varix: A Case Report

Mediastinal varix is rare. Some reports have noted that the mediastinal vein can become varicose in cases of portal hypertension or obstruction of the vena cava. However, solitary mediastinal varices without portal hypertension or obstruction of the vena cava are very rare. Mediastinal varicose veins have been problematic as pseudotumors, as no symptoms have been described in the literature. We encountered a case of cardiac tamponade due to a ruptured solitary mediastinal varicose vein. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of sustained symptomatic mediastinal varicose vein.

Pericardial Varices Secondary to Portal Hypertension Demonstrated by CT

Pericardial varices are rarely seen on CT and can be misinterpreted as mediastinal masses or lymph nodes. We report a case of a 38-year-old man who presented for routine liver transplant evaluation. On high-resolution computed tomography (CT), a cluster of varices was seen in the left cardiophrenic angle.