Left ventricular laceration due to stented prosthesis

Complications following open chest massage in patients with porcine xenografts in the mitral location have not been previously described. The authors report a case of cardiac resuscitation following mitral valve replacement with a stented porcine valve. The patient died following brief closed chest, and then, prolonged open chest, cardiac massage. Autopsy showed laceration of the left ventricle by the prosthetic valve stents. Physicians involved in the postoperative care of patients with stented prosthetic valves should be aware of this complication and should exercise caution when applying manual compression in the region of the posterolateral base of the heart.