The Role of Open Mitral Valve Repair or Replacement for Severe Mitral Stenosis or Regurgitation versus Catheter Based Therapies

INTRODUCTION The development of various catheter-based therapies for valvular heart disease has provided less invasive, durable treatment options for certain selected groups of patients particularly young patients with uncomplicated rheumatic mitral stenosis (1,2). In these patients, results have been similar to those obtained with closed mitral commissurotomy operation (3,4). However, in many patients the extent and severity of pathological changes in the normal anatomy of the mitral valve still makes correction of these abnormalities under direct vision the best option.