Malfunction of Cutter-Smeloff mitral prosthesis. An echocardiographic diagnosis.

Progression of intermittent partial or total impaction of the poppet from a prosthetic mitral valve may be difficult to evaluate in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and atrial fibrillation. Heart sounds may be distant; opening and closing clicks of the poppet are muffled and irregular. Echocardiography provides a noninvasive method to detect early prosthetic malfunction at a time when the patient is clinically asymptomatic.