title: Aspergillus prosthetic valve endocarditis.
abstract: A 66-year-old man developed Aspergillus fumigatus endocarditis, complicated by an aortic root abscess 9 months after his aortic valve replacement with a Carpentier Edwards xenograft. The aortic root was replaced with an antibiotic-treated fresh homograft and anti-fungal chemotherapy commenced 24 hours later. One month after this he developed a retrosternal pseudo-aneurysm of the ascending aorta. At re-operation the homograft was heavily infected with fungal growths and the patient was considered inoperable. This case is an example of a rare condition complicating cardiac valve prosthesis which still has a very poor prognosis, despite any surgical and chemotherapeutic efforts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Brook General Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Stavridis
authors.forename: F P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Shabbo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery*; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012086:Reoperation