The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 51, 315-316, Copyright © 1991 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Intraoperative echocardiography of a dislodged Bjork-Shiley mitral valve disc
M Tanaka, T Abe, E Takeuchi, T Watanabe and S Tamaki
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
The successful management of a patient who suffered an outlet strut
fracture of a Bjork-Shiley 60-degree convexo-concave mitral valve
prosthesis is reported. Emergency operation was life-saving. Preoperative
echocardiography assisted in making a prompt diagnosis, and intraoperative
echocardiography allowed the detection and removal of the dislodged disc
from the left ventricle at the time of the operation. The role of
intraoperative echocardiography in the diagnosis of prosthetic strut
fracture is emphasized.