Outcomes of mitral valve repair for mitral regurgitation due to degenerative disease.

The aim of this study was to review the clinical and echocardiographic outcomes after mitral valve repair for mitral regurgitation due to degenerative disease of the mitral valve. A total of 649 consecutive patients who had isolated mitral valve repair were prospectively followed up for 6.8 +/- 3.1 years. The mean age was 58 +/- 11 years. The operative mortality rate was 0.6%; the late mortality rate was 14.6%; and survival at 15 years was 67 +/- 5%. Age by increments of 5 years, advanced functional class, and impaired left ventricular function were independent predictors of late death. The freedom from reoperation on the mitral valve at 15 years was 92 +/- 3%, and the freedom from late, recurrent, severe mitral regurgitation was 85 +/- 4%. Most patients were in functional classes I or II at the latest follow-up contact. Mitral valve repair is associated with low operative mortality and morbidity, but it does not arrest the degenerative process. This study suggests that rates of reoperation underscore rates of late failure of the mitral valve repair.