Successful thrombolytic therapy for prosthetic mitral valve thrombosis with hemodynamic obstruction: case report and review of the literature.

Prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT) is a serious complication of mechanical valves. The use of thrombolytic therapy to relieve thrombotic prosthetic valve obstruction is accepted for right-sided valves, but its role in left-sided valves and hemodynamically stable patients awaits clarification. The case is presented of a patient in whom prosthetic heart valve thrombosis was treated successfully with streptokinase under transesophageal echocardiographic guidance.