Seven patients studied by echocardiography with and without simultaneous phonocardiography for suspected malfunction of a caged mitral valve prosthesis are presented. In case 1, with inaudible prosthetic clicks, thrombosis of the cage and immobility of the ball were suggested by echocardiographic studies and confirmed at surgery. In case 2, simultaneous echocardiographic and phonocardiographic...

Introduction.Listeria monocytogenes is an uncommon cause of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). Recommended antimicrobial therapy typically includes intravenous β-lactams with or without synergistic aminoglycosides. In vitro studies have previously identified antagonism when rifampicin has been used in combination with β-lactams. However, in vivo data of rifampicin use are limited despite its ...

Patients with prosthetic heart valves require lifelong oral anticoagulant therapy based on vitamin K antagonists. These patients may need interruption of their anticoagulant therapy if they have to undergo surgery. The clinical challenge is to identify patients who can safely undergo surgery while continuing their vitamin K antagonist treatment and those who have to take short-acting heparin as...

Patients with mitral valve disease and extreme enlargement of the left atrium usually exhibit significant decrease in chamber size following corrective mitral valve surgery. We describe a patient in whom extreme right and left atrial enlargement developed, and progressed following mitral valve replacement, with no evidence of prosthetic valve malfunction or tricuspid valve disease.

BACKGROUND Various complications lead to reoperation in patients who undergo prosthetic valve replacement where inflammatory process could be involved. The goals of this study were to identify risk factors that correlate with reoperation in patients with prosthetic heart valves and to investigate the relationship between reoperation and inflammatory gene polymorphisms. RESULTS The study inclu...

BACKGROUND Minimal data exist on the long-term survival of dialysis patients after cardiac valve surgery. Current practice guidelines of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on the management of patients with valvular heart disease proscribe the use of bioprosthetic (tissue) valves in hemodialysis patients. METHODS AND RESULTS Dialysis patients hospitalized...

The escape of the prosthetic heart valve disc is one of the causes of prosthetic dysfunction that requires emergency surgery. The removal of the embolized disc should be carried out because of the risk of a progressive extrusion on the aortic wall. Several imaging techniques can be used for the detection of the missing disc localization. In this report we describe a 32-year-old man who underwen...

Noninvasive techniques are helpful in evaluating the function of mechanical prostheses and tissue valves. Combined phonocardiography and M-mode echocardiography together with cinefluoroscopy are the most useful noninvasive techniques in differentiating normal from abnormal metallic prosthetic valve function. The intensity of the opening and closing clicks and associated murmurs will depend on t...