Local intense mosaic pattern at site of flail mitral leaflet: report of a new color Doppler sign.

Color flow Doppler has been useful in diagnosing the presence and severity of mitral regurgitation (MR). We noted a hitherto unreported sign of MR due to flail mitral leaflet: intense local mosaic pattern at the site of the flail leaflet. This sign was seen well in 11 of 14 patients (79%) with the two-dimensional echocardiographic features of flail mitral leaflet, all with moderate or severe MR. In 3 other patients, the sign was absent; two of those had flail mitral leaflet with severe MR. No local mosaic pattern was seen on color Doppler in 20 other patients with MR but no flail mitral leaflet. We speculate that the focal intense mosaic color Doppler morphology may have been caused by intrusion of the flail leaflet into the MR stream, or to a Coanda-like effect of the MR jet "adhering" to the flail leaflet.