Normal function of a 43-year-old Braunwald Cutter heart valve

Abstract

We present the case of a 72-year-old woman diagnosed with rheumatic fever at the age of 6. In 1972, she was diagnosed with mitral valve insufficiency and mitral valve stenosis, then in 1974, a decision was made to perform mitral valve replacement surgery with a 32-mm Braunwald-Cutter ball cage prosthesis. An echocardiogram performed in 2014 revealed normal biventricular systolic function, mechanical prosthesis in mitral position with maximum speed of 1.9 m/s, maximum gradient of 15 mmHg, mean gradient of 6 mmHg, severe tricuspid valve insufficiency, inferior vena cava measuring 15 mm with more than 50% collapse and pulmonary artery systolic pressure of 40 mmHg. We report the use of the 32-mm Braunwald-Cutter ball cage prosthesis with the longest longevity that remains functional after more than 43 years of implantation.