Combined surgery of the mitral valve and the abdominal aorta in a case of Takayasu's disease

The authors report the case of a 34-year-old woman, of North African origin, with mitral valve disease and abdominal aortitis. The differential diagnosis between Takayasu' disease, embolism of cardiac origin and rheumatic aortitis is discussed. Treatment of these lesions was by combined cardiac and vascular surgery in a single-stage operation.