Right ventricular endocarditis in a pregnant woman with a restrictive ventricular septal defect

A 22-year-old woman with a restrictive unoperated perimembranous ventricular septal defect was diagnosed with staphylococcal endocarditis during her 14th week of pregnancy. Echocardiography revealed a long, thin, and mobile vegetation along the right ventricular free wall that increased to 8 cm in length, with systolic protrusion across the pulmonary valve. The vegetation subsequently embolized, resulting in a pulmonary abscess. She responded favorably to intravenous antibiotic therapy maintained for a total of 6 weeks, with resolution of the intracardiac mass and pulmonary abscess. The remaining peripartum and postpartum course was relatively unremarkable. Percutaneous closure of the ventricular septal defect was successfully performed postpartum.