Free‐Floating Left Atrial Ball Thrombus Following Mitral Valve Replacement

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2005-05, Vol.22 (5), p.438-440
Main Authors: Chen, Timothy, LeJemtel, Thierry H., Garcia, Jose, Gordon, Garet M., Spevack, Daniel M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anticoagulation
atrium
Echocardiography
Female
Heart Atria - diagnostic imaging
Heart Diseases - diagnostic imaging
Heart Diseases - etiology
Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation - adverse effects
Humans
Middle Aged
mitral
Mitral Valve Insufficiency - surgery
Postoperative Complications
prosthetic
Thrombosis - diagnostic imaging
Thrombosis - etiology
thrombus
valve
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0742-2822
1540-8175
DOI:10.1111/j.1540-8175.2005.04060.x