HEMODYNAMIC STABILIZATION OF ACUTE PROSTHETIC VALVE THROMBOSIS USING PERCUTANEOUS CATHETER MANIPULATION

Thrombosis of a tilting-disk prosthetic heart valve can be an acute an d potentially life-threatening problem. Surgical thrombectomy, valve r eplacement, or systemic thrombolytic agents have been successfully emp loyed in the management of such cases. Some patients, however, may not survive the acute episode long enough to receive definitive surgical therapy. For such patients, temporary hemodynamic stabilization might be achieved by re-establishing partial valve disk mobility. This repor t describes a technique for re-establishing valve disk mobility in an acutely compromised patient by using a percutaneously introduced ''rig id'' catheter to manipulate an entrapped tilting-disk valve in the aor tic position. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.