[Separation of a Beall Surgitool prosthesis disk 15 years after mitral valve replacement]

The case of a 46-year-old woman who survived disc embolization of a Beall Surgitool prothesis for 10 days is described. The patient presented to another hospital 15 years after implantation of a mitral valve prothesis with acute severe heart failure refractory to medical therapy. Ten days later she was referred for cardiological investigation and a missing mitral valve disc was diagnosed by echocardiography and right heart catheterization. Immediate surgical valve replacement led to a good recovery. The embolized disc was later localized by ultrasound and abdominal CT and removed from the abdominal aorta.