Key result
Carotid exploration addresses cerebral embolization and hemiplegia following mitral valve surgery in a case report.
Why the study?
The assumption that hemiplegia following mitral valve surgery is due to cerebral embolization in the brain and is untreatable was challenged by a case report.
Case Report (n=1)
A case report discussing the potential utility of carotid exploration for hemiplegia occurring after mitral valve surgery.
May support carotid exploration for post-mitral valve hemiplegia; single case leaves open need for prospective validation.
The incidence of cerebral embolization during the performance of mitral valve surgery has been estimated at 5%. Bailey and his associates have found that they can greatly reduce this incidence by intermittent carotid occlusion during the surgical procedure. It may be that in the majority of instances cerebral embolization occurs in the brain. It had been our assumption that this was so and that nothing could be done about the hemiplegia that occasionally occurs during or shortly after this type of operation. That this assumption on our part was at least occasionally incorrect is borne out by the following case report. REPORT OF A CASE A woman, aged 39, knew she had rheumatic fever for some years. She never had cardiac decompensation nor was there any history suggesting embolism. Digitalis therapy was used for several years for auricular fibrillation. After careful medical study she was considered to have grade 2
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David P. Boyd (1955) conducted a case report in Hemiplegia following mitral valve surgery (n=1). Carotid exploration was evaluated. A case report describes a 39-year-old woman who developed hemiplegia following mitral valve surgery, challenging the assumption that cerebral embolization during such procedures cannot be addressed.
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