Late embolization of prosthetic mitral valve occluder with survival following reoperation

Embolization of the occluder from a prosthetic mitral valve is an extremely rare event. Previous reports in the literature have described the uniformly fatal outcome of this complication. A case in which the occluder from a Wada-Cutter mitral prosthesis embolized five years following implantation is presented. The patient survived following emergency reoperation. Several unique features of escaped mitral poppet are discussed. Depending upon cardiac reserves, patients who have this complication may live long enough to allow emergency operative intervention and eventual recovery.