A case of a huge aortic pseudo-aneurysm following aortic bioprosthetic endocarditis: the key role of 3D echocardiography

Abstract

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening condition with high morbidity and mortality rates, making early diagnosis and intervention crucial. This report details the case of a 47-year-old male with a history of mechanical prosthetic aortic valve replacement, presenting with pyrexia and diagnosed with aortic bioprosthetic endocarditis leading to a massive aortic pseudoaneurysm. This shows that 3D transesophageal echocardiography is much more useful than regular 2D imaging for finding problems with IE, which makes surgical planning and intervention more precise.

Keywords

• Aortic pseudo-aneurysm
• 3D echocardiography