POSTTRAUMATIC VENTRICULAR SEPTAL-DEFECT FOLLOWING CORONARY-BYPASS SURGERY

A 60-year-old patient underwent triple coronary artery bypass grafting following an inferoseptal myocardial infarction and early onset of ex ertional angina. Four years later he was involved in a car accident du ring which he sustained an abdominal. and thoracic trauma. Approximate ly 1 month after discharge, a ventricular septal defect was diagnosed by two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography with patency of all grafts at coronary angiography. Closure of the septal defect was successfull y accomplished through a right atrial approach. Rupture of the ventric ular septum following blunt chest trauma in a patient with previous my ocardial revascularization has not been previously reported.