title: An interesting case of tricuspid aortic valve with a quadricuspid function.
abstract: Quadricuspid aortic valve (QAV) is a rare congenital heart defect, often related to severe aortic regurgitation, and usually detected by echocardiography or at the time of aortic valve surgery. We report a case of an interesting and extremely rare variant of "false" QAV, detected preoperatively by transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, in a severely symptomatic patient, admitted to our hospital for dyspnea. Three leaflets of aortic valve appeared quadricuspid, because the left coronary cusp was divided into 2 parts, as confirmed by MRI and pathology. Most frequently, QAV presents with all 4 leaflets equal in size.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tessitore
authors.forename: Hajo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Chris Nadege
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Nganou-Gnindjio
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grisel
authors.forename: Lučka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Šekoranja
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006801:Humans; D018785:Tricuspid Atresia / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
keywords: aortic valve; transesophageal echocardiography; transthoracic echocardiography