title: [Traumatic rupture of the right anterior sinus of Valsalva into the right ventricle combined with aortic regurgitation].
abstract: We report the case of a 14-year old boy who was stabbed with a knife and sustained a chest wound responsible for clinical tamponade. Surgery was performed as an extreme emergency, so that lesions could not be assessed preoperatively. During the operation, beside the pericardial blood collection a wound of the pulmonary infundibulum was discovered and sutured (closed heart surgery). One year later the patient was readmitted for global heart failure. Auscultation of the heart revealed a continuous left latero-sternal murmur. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed discontinuity between the right anterior sinus of Valsalva and the right ventricular outflow tract. Contrast echocardiography displayed a negative jet image in the right ventricular outflow tract. At that level, pulsed doppler ultrasound recorded continuous turbulence as well as diastolic turbulence in the left ventricular outflow tract. Tiered oxymetry showed a left-to-right shunt in the right ventricle with a pulmonary/systemic flow ratio of 1.9. The diagnosis was confirmed by angiography which demonstrated a fistula between the right anterior sinus of Valsalva and the right ventricular outflow tract, and aortic regurgitation. In a second operation, performed under extracorporeal circulation, the traumatic lesions were repaired, and the patient thereafter recovered. This unusual case highlights the value of combined two-dimensional echocardiography, pulsed doppler ultrasound and contrast echocardiography in the diagnosis of traumatic ventriculo-aortic lesions.
authors.affiliation: Centre national de cardiologie, CHU Avicenne, Rabat, Maroc.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: el Haitem
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chaara
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mesbahi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benomár
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001019:Aortic Rupture / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D004452:Echocardiography; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D006352:Heart Ventricles; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012086:Reoperation; D012850:Sinus of Valsalva; D013908:Thoracotomy; D014951:Wounds, Stab / Q000150:complications*
vernacular_title: Rupture traumatique du sinus de Valsalva antéro-droit dans le ventricule droit, associée à une insuffisance aortique.