[Traumatic tricuspid valve insufficiency: diagnosis 23 years after the causal accident].

Abstract

We present the case of a 57-year-old male patient who was admitted for a scheduled atrial flutter ablation. He has a history of two hospital admissions: the most recent for heart failure and the other due to polytrauma after a high impact car accident 23 years ago. He reported progressive lower limbs edema. The admission electrocardiogram showed an atrial flutter with normal ventricular rate and a high grade right bundle branch block. A transthoracic echocardiogram was performed and a right ventricle dilation with severe tricuspid regurgitation was diagnosed. Due to these findings, valve surgery was planned because of symptomatic severe tricuspid regurgitation. The surgery was performed via minimally invasive thoracotomy. It revealed traumatic pericardial lacerations and signs of traumatic involvement of the tricuspid valve. The valve repair was performed without complications. The immediate postsurgery transesophageal echocardiogram showed the correct functioning of the valve without significant regurgitation.