Carcinoid heart disease. A unique case of postvalvotomy diagnosis.

Carcinoid heart disease is a rare entity and has always been hallmarked by its late appearance in the malignant carcinoid syndrome. Most cases are discovered when patients complain of typical symptoms, including flushing and diarrhea, with subsequent heart failure and valvulopathy developing years later. Only a few case reports of successful valve replacements have appeared in the literature, and the cause of the valvulopathy in those patients was known at surgery. I discuss herein a unique case of carcinoid heart disease that was diagnosed postoperatively.