Tricuspid Chordae Tendineae Rupture Detected After Repair of a Delayed Traumatic Left Ventricular Aneurysm: A Case Report.
Hanquan Shao, Yuping Liao, Zhenggong Li
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
Case in brief
After a fall from a height, a patient presented 54 days later with rupture of a posterior left ventricular aneurysm. Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation provided circulatory support before surgical aneurysm repair. Postoperative echocardiography identified new tricuspid chordae tendineae rupture, leading to elective mechanical tricuspid valve replacement. Histopathological examination of the resected valve tissue showed chronic degenerative changes. The relationship between aneurysm repair and chordal rupture was temporally observed, but its cause and mechanism were uncertain.
What made this case unusual
Tricuspid chordal rupture emerged after repair of a delayed traumatic left ventricular aneurysm rupture; the resected valve tissue showed chronic degenerative changes, leaving the connection between events uncertain.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
After severe blunt cardiac injury, continued clinical and echocardiographic vigilance may help detect delayed structural complications, including ventricular aneurysm and valvular dysfunction.
Why it matters
The case also illustrates VA-ECMO as a bridging strategy for circulatory stabilization before surgical repair of traumatic cardiac rupture.