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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

A Simplified Stepwise Approach to Echo Guidance during Percutaneous Mitral Valve Repair
Published on: October 16, 2021
[Repair of paravalvular leak after a third mitral valve replacement]
K Aizawa1, A Tateishi, Y Sakano
1Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke, Japan.
Abstract:
This study reports on a 57-year-old woman who underwent a 3rd mitral valve replacement and presented with complaints of fatigue. Laboratory examination revealed severe hemolytic anemia, and trans-esophageal echocardiography revealed a paravalvular leak (PVL) around the prosthetic valve at the posterior trigone in the mitral position. PVL was regarded as the cause of hemolytic anemia. At surgery, a small tissue defect was detected around the calcified posterior trigone of the mitral annulus with no evidence of infective endocarditis. The mitral PVL was successfully repaired with suture closure of the annular defect. The postoperative course was uneventful: postoperative echocardiography revealed no evidence of PVL, and the hemolytic anemia subsided.
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