Pulmonary varix regression after mitral valve replacement

Abstract

Pulmonary varix is a rare finding; only 35 documented cases have been reported. The first case was described in 1843 as an incidental postmortem finding. The first clinical diagnosis was not made until 1951. In more than half of the 35 cases, the varix was present in the absence of congenital and acquired heart disease. Six patients have had concomitant mitral rheumatic heart disease. This communication describes the second patient with rheumatic mitral regurgitation in whom the pulmonary varix became radiographically invisible after prosthetic mitral valve replacement.