Isolated tricuspid valve stenosis caused by infective endocarditis in an adult: report of a case.

We report herein the case of a 42-year-old man in whom dyspnea on exertion was found to be caused by isolated tricuspid stenosis. Two-dimensional echocardiogram showed thickening of the tricuspid valve with a markedly enlarged right atrium. A color-flow Doppler examination-revealed severe tricuspid stenosis without regurgitation and a Doppler-derived tricuspid diastolic pressure gradient of 23 mmHg. At the time of surgery, the patient was noted to have a stenotic tricuspid valve with thickened leaflets, fused commissures, and almost normal chorda tendineae. The valve leaflets were teased apart to the scattered specimen, and tricuspid valve replacement was successfully performed. Microscopic examination of the specimen demonstrated infective endocarditis. Isolated acquired tricuspid stenosis is extremely rare and, to our knowledge, this is the first case of infective endocarditis being involved as the primary cause.