Peculiar patterns of aortic regurgitation and carotid pulse due to dysfunction of a Medtronic Hall prosthetic valve: a case report.

We describe a patient with dysfunction of a Medtronic Hall prosthetic valve showing peculiar patterns of aortic regurgitation and carotid pulse caused by valvular thrombosis. The aortic regurgitation was considered to be caused by a significant delay in prosthetic valve closure, manifested by a peculiar regurgitation pattern limited to early diastole, in association with widely split closing clicks and an abnormally low dicrotic notch in the carotid pulse. At surgery, fibrin thrombi were noted just below the prosthetic ring in the minor outflow region which restricted disc movement. The fibrin thrombi were removed and the valve was rotated 90 degrees. Following reoperation, all abnormalities disappeared.