Successful surgical correction for an incomplete endocardial cushion defect in an elderly patient

A 72-year-old female who presented with symptoms of severe congestive heart failure, was subsequently diagnosed as having an incomplete endocardial cushion defect. A severe left-to-right shunt and mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation were noted. Closure of the ostium primum defect, mitral valve replacement, and tricuspid valve annuloplasty were performed simultaneously. The postoperative course was uneventful. A review of literature revealed that this is the oldest such surgical patient described in Japan to date. We believe that surgical correction can be effective even in elderly patients.