Aneurysm of a Nonpatent Ductus Arteriosus. An Unusual Cause of Mediastinal Mass

¹ Chief, Cardiovascular Laboratory and Assistant Professor Clinical Medicine, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center

A case of aneurysm of a nonpatent ductus arteriosus is reported. The importance of its recognition is emphasized in the differential diagnosis of any superior mediastinal mass which is being considered for exploratory thoracotomy. The patient also had a large ventricular aneurysm which was diagnosed 12 years after his myocardial infarction. Neither aneurysm was symptomatic. This case is not only the first one of aneurysm of a nonpatent ductus arteriosus to be diagnosed during life, (although the fifth in the literature), but also the only one in which coexistence of aneurysm of ductus arteriosus and ventricular aneurysm has been reported.