Abstract
A 47-year-old man was referred to our hospital for multiple rib fractures and pneumohemothorax due to a traffic accident. After admission, tricuspid valve regurgitation and hypoxemia were also diagnosed. Although fixation of the fractured ribs with plates and removal of hematoma in the pleural cavity were performed, hypoxemia did not improve. He was discharged on home oxygen therapy. Ten months and 3 years after the traffic accident, pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy suggested a right-to-left shunt. Transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated an opening of the foramen ovale and a right-to-left interatrial shunt. Direct closure of the patent foramen ovale and tricuspid valve replacement with the Carpentier-Edwards bioprosthesis were performed and hypoxemia disappeared after the second operation. Traumatic tricuspid valve regurgitation with cyanosis is extremely rare. However, it is important to take the possibility of patent foramen ovale into consideration in patients with traumatic tricuspid valve regurgitation and cyanosis.
