Surgery of Mitral Valvular Disease with Massive or Occlusive Left Atrial Thrombi and the Clinical Manifestations

　The mitral valvular diseases combined with　massive or occlusive left atrial thrombi, which　have been one of the most challenging lesions　for cardiovascular surgeons and one of the　interesting problems of accurate diagnosis for　cardiologists, were made accessible by surgery　within open heart.

　Since the first report of Wood in 1815，^1）　ball valve thrombi have been well known as an　important cause of sudden deaths in mitral　valvular diseases.