Fulminant prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by Listeria monocytogenes.

1010-7940/$ — see front matter # 2009 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic doi:10.1016/j.ejcts.2009.06.036 Listerial endocarditis is uncommon, but potentially destructive. Fifteen years after mitral valve replacement, a 67-year-old male without co-morbidities developed hyperacute shock (white blood cell count = 38.750 ml ) following a mildly febrile period with normal echocardiograms. Trans-oesophageal echocardiography showed a flail prosthesis (Fig. 1). Surgery consisted of valve re-replacement and pericardial annular reinforcement.