Characterization of normal leakage flow of monostrut tilting disk prosthetic mitral valves by multiplane transesophageal echocardiography.

To assess normal prosthetic mitral valve function, multiplane transesophageal Doppler echocardiographic studies were performed on 22 patients with Monostrut tilting disk valves. Mean follow-up after implantation was 63 +/- 12 months. Two holosystolic red low-velocity regurgitant jets were detected in all but one case. The length of these jets ranged from 0.8 to 6.9 cm and the area ranged from 0.5 to 10.1 cm2 in various planes. The origin of the jets was inside the rings of the prosthetic valves and started with a mosaic spot of 2 mm maximum diameter. In this mosaic spot, jet velocity by the high pulse-repetition frequency mode measured greater than 4 m/sec. Thin, high-velocity regurgitant jets originating outside the sewing ring were present in three cases. In one case we found a high-velocity turbulent jet originating outside the ring corresponding to a paravalvular regurgitation of moderate degree. The low-velocity jets were obscured in the patient with moderate paravalvular leak but not in patients with trivial paravalvular leaks.