The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 32, 92-96, Copyright © 1981 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Repair of a subvalvular left ventricular aneurysm following mitral valve replacement
DJ Sutorius, JA Helmsworth, JA Majeski and SF Miller
Left ventricular aneurysms are a frequent complication of myocardial
infarction. Some aneurysms occur secondary to trauma, previous operation,
or infection. This report presents the case of a patient with a posterior
submitral left ventricular aneurysm, which occurred following mitral valve
replacement. The complete obliteration of the pericardial sac due to
previous cardiac operation and the posterior location made external
dissection of the aneurysmal wall technically impossible. Closure of the
defect through the valve orifice by placing a patch over the neck of the
aneurysm was found to be a relatively simple and safe technique combined
with replacement of the prosthetic valve. The possibility of injury to the
circumflex coronary artery was reduced using this surgical approach.