Hemolytic anemia of mechanical origin was first reported by Rose and associates in 1954 in a patient with a Hufnagel prosthetic aortic valve.1 It is today a major problem in patients undergoing aortic valve surgery despite advances in surgical technique and in valvular prostheses.2-5 Traumatic hemolysis had been reported in patients with mitral valve prostheses,6 following repair of atrial septal defects,7 or endocardial cushion defects,8 and in patients with either aortic or mitral valve disease.9-12 This report concerns the development of traumatic hemolysis following the rupture of a congenital aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva.
Patient Summary
The patient (MGH 154-58-15), a 30-year-old Negro mother of two, was admitted to another hospital with a one-day history of dyspnea, cough, chest pain, palpitations, and bounding pulsations of the neck pulses. She had previously enjoyed good health, and there was no personal or family history