Intermittent aortic regurgitation is an unusual complication following
a mechanical prosthesis replacement in the early postoperative period
. Arterial pressure recording and echocardiographic assessment were en
ough to diagnose the prosthetic dysfunction. Reexploration of the valv
e confirmed the dysfunction, which was caused by a pannus of previous
aortic valve replacement with the pulmonary valve. The pannus impeded
normal closure of the leaflet in an intermittent way during diastole.
Reorientation of the valve corrected the aortic insufficiency. Doppler
ultrasound was a very useful noninvasive technique in order to evalua
te the suspected prosthetic valve dysfunction in the immediate postope
rative period.