Modified intraatrial translocation for prosthetic mitral valve endocarditis.

Despite prompt diagnosis and aggressive surgical treatment of prosthetic mitral valve endocarditis (PVE), morbidity and mortality remain high. Surgical strategies have mostly been limited to debridement and anatomic valve reinstallation. Alternative surgical techniques have been attempted sporadically against this mortal disease, either with protection by antibiotic sewing rings or by anatomic evacuation of infectious foci. These methods have not been performed concurrently, however, and their joint deployment might improve surgical outcome. We describe a surgical procedure of modified intraatrial translocation combined with sewing ring shielding, aimed at preventing the recurrence of severe methicillin-resistant staphylococci PVE in the mitral position.