Caseous calcification of the mitral annulus: A multi-modality imaging perspective

Mitral annulus calcification is a common echocardiographic finding, particularly in the elderly and in end-stage renal disease patients under chronic dialysis. Caseous calcification or liquefaction necrosis of mitral annulus calcification is a rare evolution of mitral annular calcification. Early re...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ribeiro, S (author)
Other Authors: Salgado, A (author), Salomé, N (author), Bettencourt, N (author), Azevedo, P (author), Costeira, A (author), Correia, A (author)
Format: article
Language:eng
Published: 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10400.23/482
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:repositorio.hospitaldebraga.pt:10400.23/482
Description
Summary:Mitral annulus calcification is a common echocardiographic finding, particularly in the elderly and in end-stage renal disease patients under chronic dialysis. Caseous calcification or liquefaction necrosis of mitral annulus calcification is a rare evolution of mitral annular calcification. Early recognition of this entity avoids an invasive diagnostic approach, since it is benign and, unlike intracardiac tumors and abscesses, has a favorable prognosis. The authors present the case of an 84-year-old woman with a suspicious large, echodense mass at the level of the posterior mitral leaflet with associated severe mitral regurgitation. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a hypoperfused mass with strong peripheral enhancement 10 minutes after gadolinium administration. Multislice computed tomography showed the calcified nature of the mass. A multi-modality imaging approach confirmed the diagnosis of caseous calcification of the posterior mitral annulus. The patient refused surgical treatment.