Aortic prosthesis endocarditis 6 months after transcatheter implantation

Susceptibility to endocarditis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has not yet been described. We report the first case of acute aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis in a patient undergoing transapical TAVI, successfully treated with surgery. In November 2009, an 83-year-old woman underwent TAVI (23 mm Edwards Sapien) with an uneventful postoperative course. After 6 months, her blood cultures tested positive for Enterococcus faecalis and a prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis was diagnosed following the identification of a large mobile vegetation with subvalvular abscess. The abscess cavity was closed with a pericardial patch, and the prosthetic aortic valve was replaced with a 23 mm Mitroflow aortic bioprosthesis, using a standard surgical procedure with cardiopulmonary bypass. © 2013 Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore.