Patch repair of a giant left ventricular pseudoaneurysm after mitral valve replacement

Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm (LVP) is a rare cardiac disorder. We describe the repair of a large LVP that was identified in a 73-year-old woman 10 months after she underwent mitral valve replacement for infective endocarditis at another hospital 10 months previously. Follow-up echocardiography showed an enlarged large mass beside the left ventricle, and computed tomography revealed a LVP and an orifice just beside the mitral annulus. We removed the implanted valve and closed the large orifice (35×4 mm) using a Xenomedica (Baxter Healthcare Corp, Horw, Switzerland) patch. Computed tomography 3 months later revealed a thrombosed LVP.     

Transmitral endoventricular repair of left ventricular pseudoaneurysm following mitral valve replacement

Left ventricular (LV) pseudoaneurysm is a rare but serious complication of mitral valve replacement and is usually the consequence of atrioventricular separation. Although there may be a role for nonoperative treatment in the presence of a small false aneurysm and in the absence of paravalvular leak, the presence of a large false aneurysm usually mandates surgical intervention. This may be hazardous in patients with concomitant LV dysfunction. We report a case of a patient who presented with a large LV pseudoaneurysm following numerous attempts of mitral valve replacements for a variety of reasons, including endocarditis. Some of the technical details of aneurysm repair and aspects of myocardial protection are discussed. In our patient, avoidance of cardioplegic arrest may have contributed to the successful outcome.     

Subannular left ventricular pseudoaneurysm following mitral valve replacement

Delayed development of left ventricular pseudoaneurysm is a rare late complication of mitral valve prosthesis and requires early surgical intervention. Here we describe the occurrence of such a complication diagnosed 6-months after the valve surgery in a 60-year-old lady. The anatomic delineation of subannular left ventricular pseudoaneurysm using multiple imaging modalities including CT angiography is also being discussed.     

Submitral left ventricular pseudoaneurysm

We describe a successful transatrial repair in a patient with left ventricular pseudoaneurysm in the submitral position after a myocardial infarct.     

Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm late after mitral valve replacement

We report an unusual case of left ventricular pseudoaneurysm late after mitral valve replacement. A 60-year-old woman, who had undergone aortic and mitral valve replacement using mechanical prostheses 4 months previously, presented with severe congestive heart failure. The computed tomographic scan of the chest demonstrated a large mass displacing the heart anteriorly. The orifice of the pseudoaneurysm was successfully closed on the beating heart using partial femorofemoral bypass through a left thoracotomy.     

Spontaneous closure of a large left ventricular pseudoaneurysm after mitral valve replacement

Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm is a rare, but potentially fatal, condition that generally occurs as a complication of myocardial infarction, infective endocarditis, or cardiac surgery. Surgical repair is the treatment of first choice because of the marked risk of rupture, but deteriorated hemodynamics and complicated procedures to treat the pseudoaneurysm may lead to a high mortality rate. We report a 62-year-old woman with a large left ventricular pseudoaneurysm after mitral valve replacement for rheumatic mitral valve stenosis. Surgical repair was not performed due to the patient’s refusal, but her pseudoaneurysm resolved spontaneously by 2 years after mitral valve replacement. Spontaneous obliteration of a large left ventricular pseudoaneurysm is very rare in a patient on warfarin therapy. This case suggests that a left ventricular pseudoaneurysm with a narrow neck may resolve spontaneously in rare settings.     

Successful repair of left ventricular rupture after redo mitral valve replacement

A patient with an extensive type I left ventricular rupture after a redo mitral valve replacement was successfully treated using a patch of glutaraldehyde-preserved pericardium sutured to the endocardium around the tear.     

Delayed left ventricular rupture after mitral valve replacement

Posterior left ventricular rupture (LVR) is a serious complication following mitral valve replacement (MVR), especially if occurring postoperatively with the chest already closed or the patient in the intensive care unit. Only one of the patients with this delayed type of LVR reported earlier has been treated successfully. Our experience consists of 4 such complications among 161 MVR patients, the incidence being 2.5%. Two of these patients survived. Mechanical factors seem to constitute the most important etiologic causes for this complication. Immediate reoperation must be performed, and extracorporeal circulation is generally mandatory for successful repair. The reconstruction of the ruptured posterior left ventricular wall in both surviving patients was performed from the epicardial surface of the heart using pledget sutures. The auricle of the left atrium was used to cover the site of the tear when bleeding was not stopped with pledget sutures. It usually seems possible to avoid this complication if all mechanical etiologic factors are taken into consideration. After successful correction, a pseudoaneurysm may arise and, for that reason, a cardiac echo sonography follow-up is recommended.     

Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm following mitral valve repair

We present a rare case of a left ventricular pseudoaneurysm following mitral valve repair probably due to testing the valve’s competence. The pseudoaneurysm was treated successfully with a sutureless technique in which layers of a biodegradable collagen system with fibrinogen-based coating were used. We reviewed the literature regarding left ventricular rupture following mitral valve surgery published from 1990 until 2006. Overall, the incidence of this complication was 0.56% for 10978 operations, and the mortality rate was 57.4%. We also describe a possible mechanism common to all forms of left ventricular rupture.     

Intracardiac repair in left ventricular rupture following mitral valve replacement

Rupture of the left ventricle is one of the major lethal complications of mitral valve replacement. We have encountered 11 cases of this complication over a period of 19 years (1971, Apr.-1990, Mar.). Five of 8 cases of intraoperative rupture survived but no patient survived a delayed rupture. In the patients with intraoperative rupture external repair was performed in 6 cases, resulting in 3 survivors, two in type II and one in type I with formation of left ventricular false aneurysm. For selection of surgical treatment accurate recognition of types of rupture is important but the location and size of the endocardial and epicardial defects do not always correspond. Attempts to suture a ventricular rupture on the pressure-loaded beating heart were always unsuccessful and frequently extended the tear. Repair should be accomplished with aid of cardiopulmonary bypass on the decompressed and arrested heart. Recently, we chose internal repair with arrested heart in 2 cases of type I rupture, that is, reopening of the left atrial closure and repair from within the cardiac chamber with removal of the prosthetic valve. Both cases survived. In conclusion, we emphasized importance of intracardiac repair with removal of the replaced prosthetic valve in left ventricular rupture of type I and III following mitral valve replacement for better exposure, more secure repair, and prevention of injury to the circumflex artery.     

Type I left ventricular rupture after mitral valve replacement

Rupture of the left ventricle in the atrioventricular (AV) groove is a rare and usually fatal complication of mitral valve replacement (MVR). The successful repair of a delayed type I left ventricular rupture is described. The technique of repair is described, the literature reviewed, and three further cases from the authors' experience are reported.     

Mitral valve replacement and endocavitary patch repair for a giant left ventricular pseudoaneurysm

We present a case of a giant inferior left ventricular (LV) wall pseudoaneurysm. The patient had New York Heart Association class IV heart failure due to severe mitral valve regurgitation and poor LV function. Our operative approach included right thoracotomy, excision of the mitral valve, and patch repair of the pseudoaneurysm neck from inside of the dilated LV cavity followed by mitral valve replacement. Surgery was performed without aortic cross-clamping on a normothermic perfused beating heart. The patient had an uncomplicated cardiac recovery and is doing well 15 months after surgery.     

Successful repair of post-operative rupture of the left ventricular wall after mitral valve replacement

Rupture of the left ventricular wall after mitral valve replacement (MVR) is a rare but lethal complication, particularly in delayed type. We have encountered five cases of this complication, and the last case who was suffered 6 hours after MVR was successfully repaired. This case is a 56-year-old woman with MS. She underwent MVR with a Duromedics 25 M. She was transferred to the ICU and the postoperative course was uneventful until 6 hours after the operation, then bleeding from chest drainage tubes increased suddenly. She was promptly brought to the operating room, and the cardiopulmonary bypass was restarted. A tear and hematoma at the posterior wall of the left ventricle (Type II perforation) were found. The rupture was closed with three interrupture mattress sutures with a teflon felt strip. Bleeding was decreased, but oppression with sponge was applied to small but continuous bleeding. At present, she is in a good condition without occurrence of pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle. We investigated our own five cases and sixty cases reported in Japan, and etiology, surgical repair and prevention of this complication were discussed.     

二尖瓣置换术后左室破裂的外科处理

目的 探讨二尖瓣置换术后左心室破裂的原因、治疗及预防措施.方法 1981年5月至2010年11月,2638例患者行二尖瓣置换术,其中11例发生左心室破裂,男4例,女7例;年龄28～71岁.术前心功能Ⅱ级2例,Ⅲ级9例.超声心动图提示左心室舒张期末直径32 ～62 mm.结果 根据左心室破裂时间分类,延迟破裂4例,早期破裂7例;无晚期左心室破裂.破裂类型经手术或尸检证实Ⅰ型5例,Ⅱ型4例,Ⅲ型2例.手术抢救成功4例,死亡7例.结论 女性、高龄、病理改变以二尖瓣狭窄为主、小左心室(舒张期末直径＜ 35 mm)和体重过低等是左心室破裂的危险因素.过多去除二尖瓣环上的钙化斑块;置换瓣膜型号过大,尤其是生物瓣瓣脚过高;瓣环处缝合进针过深;对乳头肌牵拉过度或者切除过多;心肌血肿以及粗暴搬动心脏等因素增加了左心室破裂的危险性.一旦发现左心室破裂,应尽快恢复体外循环,根据实际情况可以直接缝合或在心腔内、外同时修补较为确实、可靠,有可能挽救患者的生命.