A patient who underwent previous implantation of a mitral valve replacement with a Björk-Shiley Delrin (BSD) mitral valve prosthesis during infancy was admitted to our institution 43 years later ...after an episode of syncope and cardiac arrest. Under extreme hemodynamic instability, a mitral valve prosthetic dysfunction causing massive mitral regurgitation was identified. The patient underwent an emergent cardiac operation, and a complete disc fracture with partial disc migration was found. Exceptional cases of mechanical prosthetic heart valve fracture exist. We report the first case of complete transversal disc rupture of a BSD mitral valve prosthesis after the longest period of implantation ever reported in that position.
A patient was submitted to mitral valve replacement and tricuspid ring annuloplasty. During immediate postoperative course, signs of inferior myocardial ischemia appeared. Acute entrapment of the ...right coronary artery due to tricuspid ring sutures was confirmed by coronary angiography. The patient was reoperated and a right coronary bypass graft was successfully performed. Tricuspid procedures have shown to be effective and secure with a low rate of complication. Few cases of right coronary artery occlusion have been described and the majority not treated. Exceptional cases of right coronary occlusion related to tricuspid ring annuloplasty have been reported with a favorable outcome, as the case described herein.
Abstract We report on a 77-year-old woman in whom percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure was performed. The patient had a left atrial myxoma resection 3 years previously, and 2 years later, ...she suffered a transient ischemic attack. Atrial fibrillation was detected and anticoagulation therapy was established. An episode of intracranial bleeding forced interruption of anticoagulation. Thus, percutaneous LAA closure with an Amplatzer Amulet LAA Occluder (St Jude Medical) was proposed. During the procedure, the LAA occluder migrated and became trapped in the mitral valve. Secondary massive mitral regurgitation and hemodynamic instability forced emergent cardiac surgery. Successful removal of the Amplatzer Amulet LAA Occluder was achieved.