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Updated: Sep 14, 2025

Technique and Patient Selection Criteria of Right Anterior Mini-Thoracotomy for Minimal Access Aortic Valve Replacement
Published on: March 26, 2018
Mechanical Aortic Valve Thrombosis: Treatment With Tissue Plasminogen Activator
Ghazala Munawar1, Vasu Gupta2, Zenab Laiq3
1Department of Internal Medicine, Northwest School of Medicine, Peshawar, Pakistan.
Background:
Mechanical aortic valve thrombosis is a rare complication in patients with mechanical valve replacements. Despite the advantages of mechanical valves, they necessitate lifelong anticoagulation therapy to prevent thrombotic events.
Case Summary:
A 32-year-old man with a mechanical aortic valve presented with chest pain and dyspnea suggestive of myocardial infarction. Left heart catheterization revealed 100% occlusion of the distal left circumflex artery whereas cardiac computed tomography revealed a thrombus on the mechanical aortic valve. The patient was successfully treated with thrombolytic therapy using slow intravenous Alteplase infusion.
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