Zeitschrift für Kardiologie
-
This report presents a case of penetrating chest trauma leading to pericardial tamponade and ventricular septum defect successfully resuscitated by surgery in 1968 in an 11-year-old boy. 10 years later a first-size calcified hematoma was removed. However the 30% left to right intracardiac shunt flow as established by complete heart catheterization prior to surgery was not corrected. Non-invasive methods were used to assess cardiac function 18 years after the initial event including physical examination, chest X-ray, thoracic computer tomography, ECG, 24 h Holter monitoring and exercise testing, combined with myocardial scintigraphy and radionuclide angiography and echocardiographic techniques using the transthoracic and the transoesophageal approach. The diagnostic value of echocardiographic examinations is emphasized with special reference to contrast- and Doppler-echocardiography including the color-coded Doppler-flow-imaging technique.
-
A 20-year-old woman suffering from mitral valve endocarditis due to streptococcus faecalis infection after blunt trauma and splenectomy complained of severe headache 18 days later. Cerebral angiography showed a left posterior artery aneurysm. A craniotomy was performed and the aneurysm could be successfully removed. ⋯ The patient underwent mitral valve replacement with a St. Jude-Medical prosthesis 14 days after brain surgery. The patient was in stable neurologic and hemodynamic conditions at the time of discharge 3 weeks after valve replacement.