Bacterial endocarditis in pregnancy: successful surgical correction

Abstract

Bacterial endocarditis, an extremely rare and serious complication during pregnancy, is almost always fatal to the fetus. This paper describes successful aortic valve replacement in a woman who was 22 weeks' pregnant. She had acute bacterial endocarditis with aortic insufficiency and severe congestive heart failure. At term, she was delivered of a live infant. We believe this is the first case of a fetus surviving such a complication.