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Updated: Mar 27, 2026

Echocardiographic Evaluation of Atrial Communications before Transcatheter Closure
Published on: February 8, 2022
Intracardiac echocardiography to diagnose pannus formation after aortic valve replacement
Yoshiya Yamamoto1, Takahiro Ohara2, Akira Funada1
1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, 5-7-1 Fujishiro-dai, Suita, Osaka, 565-8565, Japan.
Abstract:
A 66-year-old female, under regular follow-up for 20 years after aortic valve replacement (19-mm Carbomedics), presented dyspnea on effort and hypotension during hemodialysis. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed elevation of transvalvular velocity up to 4 m/s, but the structure around the aortic prosthesis was difficult to observe due to artifacts. Fluoroscopy revealed normal motion of the leaflets of the mechanical valve. Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) revealed a pannus-like structure in the left ventricular outflow tract. Transesophageal echocardiogram also revealed this structure. ICE can visualize structural abnormalities around a prosthetic valve after cardiac surgery even in patients in whom conventional imaging modalities failed.
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