The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 49, 140-142, Copyright © 1990 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Survival after embolization of a complete prosthetic aortic valve to the aortic arch
JM Stoneburner Jr, BL Tucker and RJ Hurvitz
Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center.
Partial dehiscence and embolization of poppets, leaflets, and discs are
well-known complications of mechanical valve prostheses. Dehiscence with
embolization of an entire prosthetic valve is rare. Previous reports of
dehiscence and embolization of an entire prosthetic valve are associated
with fatality and are the subject of autopsy reports. We report a patient
who survived an operation (using cardiopulmonary bypass and total
circulatory arrest) to retrieve an embolized prosthetic valve.