Emergency pulmonary autograft mitral valve replacement in a child

Mitral valve replacement in small. children imposes significant clinical di fficulties because of the relatively small mechanical prosthetic valves req uired and the need for lifelong anticoagulation therapy. A child weighing 1 0.4 kg presented with thrombosis of her 19-mm mechanical mitral prosthesis 4 weeks after implantation despite appropriate oral anticoagulation therapy . An emergency mitral valve replacement with a pulmonary autograft was succ essfully performed with encouraging short-term results. (C) 2001 by The Soc iety of Thoracic Surgeons.