Fetal Right Ventricular Diverticulum with Pericardial Effusion: To Drain or Not To Drain?

Congenital right ventricular diverticulum is an extremely rare form of congenital heart disease (CHD), often associated with pericardial effusion, for which little information exists regarding optimal management, natural history, or prognosis [1]. The first case in history was described in 1838 by O’Bryan [2] in a patient affected by Ectopia cordis. Right ventricular outpouches are less common than those arising from the left ventricle, but both can be associated with other cardiac malformations [3], the most common of which appears to be conotruncal malformations followed by isolated ventricular septal defects [4,5].