Introduction
Car accidents induced blunt chest trauma can cause many cardiac
complications such as right ventricular free-wall rupture, tricuspid
valve rupture, tricuspid valve regurgitation, ventricular septal
rupture, coronary artery dissection or thrombosis, left ventriclular
chordae and papillary muscle rupture, heart failure and
arrhythmias1-3. One of the most common valvular
complication is tricuspid regurgitation (TR)4, which
can be diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) acutely and
followed by TTE for sequelue during follow-up5.
Unlike rupture of cardiac wall or left sided valves, tricuspid valve
rupture usually does not result in immediate hemodynamic instability and
may go undiagnosed5,6. TR after chest-wall trauma may
involve any part of valvular apparatus5,7 and
depending upon the severity of the structural damage to the tricuspid
apparatus, the manifestations can vary. Herein we present the case of a
car driver who sustained blunt chest-wall trauma and then developed TR
due to tricuspid valve leaflet perforation and subsequently another TR
jet from tricuspid annular dilation due to right ventricle remodeling
during long term follow up.