Percutaneous transhepatic and transseptal dilatation of a surgically implanted Melody® Valve in the mitral position in a 2-year-old child.

The use of the Melody® (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) biological prosthesis in mitral position has shown acceptable short-term results. Furthermore, it allows its expansion with a balloon when the patient grows up, and this procedure can be performed by a venous catheterization through transseptal approach through an interatrial communication or puncturing the septum. Patients with complex congenital heart disease undergoing multiple surgical and percutaneous interventions may present with vascular complications such as thrombosis of the femoral venous system that make percutaneous access impossible. In this situation, the transhepatic approach is a very useful alternative to access the heart.

Pericardial agenesis.

Congenital pericardial defect is a rare and usually asymptomatic condition which is classified incomplete or partial. Up to 70% of cases consist of complete absence of left pericardium. The diagnosis may be challenging due to its low frequency and absence of correlation with any specific finding on the clinical examination. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging is the gold standard imaging technique for the diagnosis confirming the absence of pericardium, although other indirect signs may be seen. In partial defects, surgery is the treatment option. We present an incidental finding of total agenesis of the left pericardium in an asymptomatic 16-year-old male diagnosed in a preoperative assessment of a bone fracture.