Mitral approach in prosthetic endocarditis with calcified annulus and abscess.

Abscess resection and prosthesis reimplantation is the only effective treatment for mitral prosthesis endocarditis with extensive annular abscess, but it has high morbidity and mortality when associated with severe mitral annular calcification in the atrial and ventricular walls. We describe a technique that allows repair of the abscess cavity, reconstruction of the annulus, and implantation of a new mitral prosthesis when there is severe adjacent myocardial calcification, so decreasing the reoperation risk.