Mitral valve replacement in a patient with a collapsed lung.

A 67-year-old man, with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis since 18 years old, presented shortness of breath because of severe mitral regurgitation. Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the heart was displaced into the left thoracic cavity and rotated clockwise around its long axis. The forced expiratory volume per second was 1.06 l (46.7% of the predicted value) and the vital capacity was 2.48 l (72.1% of predicted value). Surgery was performed through a median sternotomy. An internal mammary artery harvest retractor was used to obtain operative exposure. Extensive pericardial suspension was used to push the over-inflated right lung across the midline. Extracorporeal circulation was established. The mitral valve was replaced with a mechanical prosthesis. The patient was weaned easily from extracorporeal circulation and was extubated on the day of surgery. If preoperative respiratory function is adequate, cardiac surgery can be performed safely in a patient with only one functional lung.