title: Free-floating left atrial ball thrombus following mitral valve replacement.
abstract: We report the case of a 51-year-old woman who underwent mitral valve replacement for prolapse with severe regurgitation, depressed ejection fraction, and atrial fibrillation. Two weeks post-operatively, a transesophageal echocardiogram was performed for bacteremia. The patient was found incidentally to have a large free-floating ball thrombus in the left atrium. The patient was managed with anticoagulation because of the high-risk nature of repeat surgery. One month following diagnosis, the patient still had persistent thrombus in the left atrium seen on transthoracic echocardiography despite therapeutic anticoagulation. Free-floating ball thrombus is a rare and dramatic finding seen on echocardiography in patients with mitral valve disease.
authors.affiliation: Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10467, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Thierry H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Lejemtel
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Garet M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Spevack
mesh_terms: D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*