Acute tricuspid valve obstruction following the use of tricuspid ball valve prosthesis.

A case is presented in which the mitral and tricuspid valves were replaced by a ball-valve prosthesis. The patient was admitted as an emergency 18 months later with the clinical picture of acute venous inflow obstruction to the heart due to tricuspid ball-valve prosthesis obstruction. Successful replacement under emergency open heart surgery, using assisted circulation, is described.