Thrombosis of a St. Jude Medical tricuspid prosthesis. Case report

Thrombosis of both valve leaflets of a St. Jude Medical tricuspid cardiac prosthesis, resulting in valvular dysfunction, was detected by systolic and diastolic tricuspid murmurs and confirmed by M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiograms. Thrombus formation at both hinge points of the bileaflet valve caused one leaflet to stick in the nearly closed position and the other to have severely impeded motion. Thrombotic involvement of both valve leaflets, not previously reported, occurred in a 17-year-old boy who has undergone six prosthetic cardiac valvular replacements in the past 2 years. Failure to achieve adequate anticoagulation in the early postoperative period appears to be related to the thrombosis in this case.