While body piercing has been practiced for many centuries, the popularity of this body art has increased vastly in recent years. It is estimated that up to 51% of college-age individuals in the United States have ear piercing or other forms of piercing or tattoo. Although perceived as a relatively safe practice, medical complications, mostly resulting from bleeding and

infections, occur in 17% of all cases after piercing. The case is reported of a patient with native mitral valve endocarditis after tongue piercing, resulting in acute mitral valve insufficiency that required valve replacement.

The Journal of Heart Valve Disease 2007;16:328-330