TY - JOUR AU - Gurbuz, Orcun AU - Ercan, Abdulkadir AU - Ozkan, Hakan AU - Kumtepe, Gencehan AU - Karal, Ilker H. AU - Ener, Serdar PY - 2014 DA - 2014/12/17 TI - Case report: paravalvular leak as a complication of percutaneous catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation JO - Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery SP - 187 VL - 9 IS - 1 AB - An increasing number of reports reveal the safety and efficacy of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation therapy even in patients with a history of prosthetic heart valve. This case report presents a 60 year old female patient who had a prosthetic mitral paravalvular leak as a complication of radiofrequency ablation. Surgery revealed a 15 mm hole and three broken knots in the posterolateral mitral annulus. This report demonstrates radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation in patients with prosthetic mitral valve may cause a paravalvular leak likely as a result of thermal injury. Moreover, patient can be asymptomatic at first. The clinician should keep in mind such complication and the patient should be evaluated in terms of paravalvular leakage. SN - 1749-8090 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13019-014-0187-4 DO - 10.1186/s13019-014-0187-4 ID - Gurbuz2014 ER -