PSEUDOANEURYSM OF THE ASCENDING AORTA AFTER AORTIC-VALVE REPLACEMENT

A 58-year-old man with fryer and chest wall tenderness was seen 8 week s after aortic valve replacement. His initial postoperative course had been complicated by mediastinitis, requiring antibiotics and surgical debridement. A transthoracic echocardiogram did not reveal the culpri t lesion. Pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta was suspected, based o n computerized tomographic and magnetic resonance images of the chest. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography confirmed the diagnos is of pseudoaneurysm and was a key component in the patient's operativ e management.