Left Ventricular Rupture Following Mitral Valve Replacement*

During a 10-year period, we have encountered 6 patients (mean age, 61.2 years) with left ventricular rupture following mitral valve replacement, with an overall incidence of 1.8 percent. Four patients had early rupture, one had delayed rupture, and one had late rupture with a false aneurysm formation. Among four patients with early niptare, there were two patients with external repair by using a large ventricular patch and two patients with internal and the external repair by removing the prosthetic valve and patching both the inside and outside of the ventricle. In a patient with delayed rupture, bleeding from an epicardial hematoma was recognized along the atrioventricular groove in the intensive care unit. It was possible to control bleeding by packing the gauze, hemostatic cellulose [Surgicel], and fibrin glue. Late rupture was recognized as a false aneurysm; however, there were no clinical symptoms. All patients