Mitral valve re-replacement for impaired bioprosthesis after 19 years in a patient undergoing steroid treatment.

A 59-year-old man underwent closed mitral commissurotomy for mitral stenosis at the age of 19 years, and mitral valve replacement (MVR) with a Hancock standard bioprosthesis and tricuspid annuloplasty at the age of 40 years. Two years after the second operation, the patient developed human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 infection, manifesting as myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis, and has required steroid therapy for 17 years. He was well for 18 years after the MVR, but has recently developed severe congestive heart failure, orthopnea and enlarged liver. Doppler echocardiography showed severe transvalvular regurgitation of the prosthesis and tricuspid valve. The patient underwent re-MVR with a 27 mm St. Jude Medical prosthesis, and tricuspid annuloplasty. The surgery was well tolerated, without any significant infectious complication. Some tears and perforations were found in the leaflets of the explanted bioprosthesis, but soft X-ray analysis showed minimal calcification. Mild changes and longer durability of the bioprosthesis may be related to the long-term use of steroid therapy.