Papillary muscle rupture following nonpenetrating chest trauma: report of a case with hemodynamic and serial echocardiographic findings and successful surgical treatment.

The pre- and postoperative echocardiographic features of a patient with severe mitral incompetence due to rupture of a papillary muscle following nonpenetrating chest trauma are presented. The mitral valve echocardiogram showed chaotic diastolic flutter suggestive of a ruptured papillary muscle or ruptured chordae tendineae. The preoperative ultrasound recording of the left ventricle revealed left ventricular enlargement and excessive motion of the interventricular septum. The echocardiogram taken 7 weeks after mitral valve replacement showed considerable regression of the left ventricular enlargement.