Bioprosthetic valve excision without replacement in the tricuspid position in a patient with Libman-Sacks endocarditis.

A 19 year old girl with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), in chronic renal failure and on haemodialysis, underwent tricuspid valve replacement with a Carpentier-Edwards xenograft because of a large calcified mass invading the right side of the heart. The mass caused no symptoms and had been discovered accidentally on a routine chest X-ray. The bioprosthetic valve had subsequently to be removed, having developed functional stenosis, and was not replaced. Despite the absence of a tricuspid valve, the patient remains well five years after the operation.