• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.268-272
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• 2008

Paravalvular abscess is defined as infective necrosis of the mitral annulus and surrounding tissue that requires debridement of the necrotic tissue and patch reconstruction before valve implantation. Paravalvular abscess is associated with high operative mortality, postoperative complications, and recurrence. We report here a case of a 59-year old woman that had undergone mitral valvular replacement with a mechanical valve 13 years ago. The patient was determined to have paravalvular leakage due to paravalvular abscess as seen during follow-up. The patient underwent repeat mitral valvular replacement with annular reconstruction. However, the patient with mitral annular reconstruction and valvular replacement on the fifteenth postoperative day due to recurrence of paravalvular leakage. The patient is now receiving follow-up eight months after surgery.