Combined Percutaneous Procedure in Patient with Lutembacher Syndrome: A Case Report and Real-World Experience Review

Lutembacher syndrome in a middle-aged woman in Ghana with an extremely large atrial septal defect

Lutembacher syndrome (LS) is a rare heart disorder characterized by a congenital or acquired combination of the atrial septal defect (ASD) and mitral stenosis. In LS, patients may be asymptomatic for years, but early detection and treatment result in a better prognosis. In contrast, the prognosis is usually poor, with conservative treatment if the diagnosis is late and the patient develops heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. Although rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and congenital heart disease are prevalent in Ghana, cases of LS are not reported. Here, we report the case of a 45-year-old woman with rheumatic mitral valve stenosis and an exceptionally large ASD with bidirectional flow who was diagnosed with LS and treated conservatively for heart failure at a cardiology clinic in Ghana.

Non-surgical treatment of Lutembacher syndrome: combined percutaneous transcatheter therapy

A woman in her 30s presented with progressive worsening of dyspnoea for 6 months. On evaluation, she was diagnosed with severe rheumatic mitral stenosis (mitral valve area of 0.6 cm2) and a large ostium secundum atrial septal defect (21 mm) with a left to right shunt and severe pulmonary artery hypertension. She was diagnosed with Lutembacher syndrome and was evaluated for suitability of a percutaneous approach. She was subjected to a combined procedure of percutaneous transluminal mitral commissurotomy followed by device closure of the atrial septal defect. The patient tolerated the procedure, remained haemodynamically stable and was discharged after 4 days. This procedure can prevent the morbidity and mortality associated with anaesthesia and cardiac surgery and the psychological trauma of a thoracotomy scar particularly in a female patient, as well as obviate the need for prolonged hospital stay.

An Incidental Diagnosis of Rheumatic Mitral Stenosis and Secundum Atrial Septal Defect (Lutembacher's Syndrome) in a Young Woman

Lutembacher's syndrome is a rare cardiovascular defect comprising of mitral stenosis and atrial septal defect. A combination of acquired mitral stenosis and congenital atrial septal defect is the most well-recognized pattern. As atrial septal defect acts as a pressure relieving gateway, signs and symptoms of mitral stenosis may be attenuated and/or delayed in such patients. We have presented a case with Lutembacher's syndrome that was incidentally diagnosed as having such defect during outpatient check-up for upper respiratory infection.