A 37-year-old male with acute complicated methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus mitral valve endocarditis underwent urgent valve replacement with a bileaflet prosthesis. The postoperative course was complicated with fever and heart failure. Echocardiography showed a large subannular false aneurysm of the left ventricle. Three weeks later resection and closure of the defect with a patch ma...

A 46-year-old woman with a history of rheumatic heart disease and mitral and aortic valve replacement with mechanical bileaflet prosthesis was admitted with acute anterior wall ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock after discontinuation of anticoagulant therapy. She underwent emergency coronary catheterization. Fluoroscopy confirmed normal motion of the prosthetic val...

Moderate-to-severe paraprosthesic leak causing hemodynamic deterioration and left ventricular remodeling can occur after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We present the case of a 75-year-old woman who underwent TAVI with a 26 mm CoreValve prosthesis complicated with an acute left ventricle dilatation due to a severe paravalvular leak. Patient was unresponsive to elective balloon ...

Until recently, heart valve failure has been treated adopting open-heart surgical techniques and cardiopulmonary bypass. However, over the last decade, minimally invasive procedures have been developed to avoid high risks associated with conventional open-chest valve replacement techniques. Such a recent and innovative procedure represents an optimal field for conducting investigations through ...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES To determine the characteristics of Propionibacterium acnes prosthetic valve endocarditis (PAPVE). METHODS Prospective descriptive study of 16 consecutive cases of PAPVE. RESULTS Seven patients developed PAPVE early and 9 developed it late. In all those who developed PAPVE late, there was a history of mucocutaneous barrier manipulation. The delay in diagnosis was...

We have read with the greatest interest the paper by Wolfgang A. Goetz et al. entitled Truly stentless molded autologous pericardial aortic valve prosthesis with single point attached commissures in a sheep model [1]. We congratulate the authors on their achievements in the development of valve bioprosthesis. Apparently an autologous valve prosthesis is the subject of thorough study in the Medi...

Supplementary material (Videos 1 and 2) is available at EJCTS online. Video 1: Transoesophageal echocardiography showing a blockade of one of the leaflets of the mitral valve prosthesis due to a giant pannus formation with a resulting stenosis and insufficiency. Video 2: Fluoroscopy of aortic valve (top) and mitral valve (bottom) prostheses. There is an almost normal motion amplitude of one lea...

Structural analysis, especially the thickness effect on the structural strength, of a bileaflet mechanical heart valve prosthesis with curved leaflets is presented in this paper. Taking the wide variations of the blood flow pressure on the leaflet surface, the structural stresses inside the leaflet and deflections of the leaflet are investigated by adopting both linear and nonlinear structural ...

This report describes a 15-month-old child without particular heart problems, presenting prolonged high-grade fever, an impaired level of consciousness, right hemiparesis and cutaneous lesion on admission. Medication was started according to the initial diagnosis of bacterial or viral meningitis, however, congestive heart failure was suddenly observed 15 days after the admission. Echocardiograp...