Rupture of right sinus of Valsalva aneurysm into the pulmonary artery

• Published in: General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2015-01, Vol.63 (1), p.52-55
• Main Authors: Tsuda, Kazumasa, Koide, Masaaki, Kunii, Yoshifumi, Watanabe, Kazumasa, Miyairi, Satoshi, Ohashi, Yuko, Harada, Takashi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aneurysms; Cardiac Surgery; Cardiology; Case Report; Coronary vessels; Dyspnea; Fistula; Heart failure; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Oxygen saturation; Patients; Pulmonary arteries; Surgery; Surgical Oncology; Surgical outcomes; Sutures; Thoracic Surgery; Tomography; Veins & arteries
• ISSN: 1863-6705; 1863-6713
• DOI: 10.1007/s11748-013-0275-8

Rupture of a sinus of Valsalva aneurysm is an uncommon lesion that can occur in any cardiac chamber since the aortic valve occupies a central position in the base of the heart. However, rupture into the pulmonary artery is extremely rare. We describe a case of rupture of an aneurysm of right sinus of Valsalva into the pulmonary artery of a 51-year-old woman. She had been treated by patch closure of a sub-pulmonary ventricular septal defect and aortic valve replacement due to right coronary cusp prolapse 26 years previously. A massive shunt from Valsalva sinus into pulmonary artery indicated the need of radical operation. The defect in the pulmonary artery wall was closed through a pulmonary arteriotomy with a satisfactory outcome. As far as we know, a case of rupture of a sinus of Valsalva aneurysm into pulmonary artery after the previous operation for VSD has not been reported.