Tricuspid valve incompetence caused by an intracardiac needle-like foreign body.
We report a rare case of tricuspid valve incompetence caused by a needle-like foreign body with an unknown route of invasion. A 55-year-old woman who had suffered from chronic heart failure for more than 25 years was diagnosed as having Ebstein's anomaly after a transthoracic echocardiogram with Doppler imaging showed severe tricuspid regurgitation and displacement of the septal leaflet toward the right ventricle inlet. Surgery revealed a foreign body attached to the tricuspid valve, causing regurgitation. Valve replacement was performed and the patient's condition improved remarkably thereafter.
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Saiseikai Shimonoseki General Hospital, Yamaguchi, Japan. kobaling@tf6.so-net.ne.jp
Toshiro
T
Kobayashi
Kenji
K
Hayashi
Kensuke
K
Sakata
Yurio
Y
Kobayashi
D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications*; D006321:Heart; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009339:Needles / Q000009:adverse effects; D014262:Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery