[Surgical treatment of traumatic rupture of the aortic valve]

Rupture of the aortic valve after a blunt chest trauma is rare. A 63-year-old man was injured in an automobile accident and was hospitalized elsewhere due to acute respiratory failure 4 days after the accident. On admission, he was intubated immediately. The patient did not respond to available medical treatments and was therefore transferred to our hospital. His condition was diagnosed as severe left heart failure, and an emergency operation was performed. The right coronary and non-coronary cusps were perforated and the commissure between the right coronary and non-coronary cusps was torn. The aortic valve was excised and a SJM 25 AEC prosthetic valve was inserted. The patient recovered well postoperatively.