[A case of infective endocarditis with subtotal rupture of the posterior papillary muscle].

We recently experienced a case of infective endocarditis with multiple embolic complications. The patient was a 21-year-old male who was admitted to our hospital with high fever and dyspnea. Echocardiography showed vegetation on the aortic valve, severe aortic regurgitation and mild mitral regurgitation. Abdominal echography revealed large splenic infarction. First we performed aortic valve replacement and splenectomy. But infective endocarditis developed after surgery, and echocardiography revealed severe mitral regurgitation, which has been a change for the worse. After treatment with antibiotics, mitral valve replacement (the second surgery) was performed. Intraoperative findings were confirmative of subtotal rupture of the posterior papillary muscle. Histological examination of the subtotal ruptured muscle revealed presence of coagulation necrosis. The patient is healthy without recurrence of infective endocarditis after the second surgery. It is exceedingly rare to experience a case of surgically treated subtotal papillary muscle rupture due to infective endocarditis.