Transoesophageal echocardiography allows the precise assessment of mitral valve pathology. Perioperative assessment of the mitral valve provides valuable support for the cardiac surgical team in planning a repair or replacement of this unique three-dimensional structure. This article will review the echocardiographic methods and views that allow a systematic assessment of the mitral valve appar...

Over the past few decades, it has become apparent that mitral valve repair is preferable to mitral valve replacement for the majority of patients undergoing surgery for mitral regurgitation (MR). The advantages of mitral valve repair include low rates of thromboembolism, resistance to endocarditis, excellent late durability reported for as long as 25 years, and no need for anticoagulation in th...

Haemolytic anemia is a rare complication of Ionescu-Shiley bioprosthesis which occurred particularly in the first decade following the mitral valve replacement. We report here a case of a 75 year –old man who underwent to an isolated mitral valve replacement for severe Barlow disease using Ionescu-Shiley bioprosthesis. After 25 years of exceptional longevity, a dysfunction of the Ionescu-Shiley...

BACKGROUND Moderate secondary tricuspid incompetence has variable natural history if left unattended during mitral valve surgery. Recent data suggest progression of the secondary tricuspid incompetence over time.Secondary moderate tricuspid regurgitation in rheumatic mitral valve disease may regress after mitral valve surgery without direct intervention. OBJECTIVES The present study was done ...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to assess the use of real-time (RT) 3-dimensional (3D) transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in the evaluation of post-operative mitral valve dehiscence. BACKGROUND Mitral valve replacement or repair may be complicated by post-operative dehiscence of the valve or annuloplasty ring resulting in clinically significant mitral regurgitation or hemol...

We report the case of a 55-year-old man who presented with an infected left atrial myxoma that seeded a normal native mitral valve. Despite the absence of mitral regurgitation or heart failure, prior to the patient completing a course of IV antibiotic therapy we removed the tumor, replaced the mitral valve, and added 3 coronary artery bypass grafts, following a single embolic event. Although a ...

This editorial refers to ‘Clinical trial design principles and endpoint definitions for transcatheter mitral valve repair and replacement: part 1: clinical trial design principles’, by G.W. Stone et al., on page 1851 and ‘Clinical trial design principles and endpoint definitions for transcatheter mitral valve repair and replacement: part 2: endpoint definitions’, by G.W. Stone et al., on page 1...

OBJECTIVE To review a 2-institution experience with minimally invasive mitral valve surgery over a 12-year period. METHODS We prospectively collected data on all patients having minimally invasive mitral valve surgery through a right minithoracotomy between May 1996 and May 2008. RESULTS A total of 1178 patients included 941 (79.9%) patients having mitral valve repair and 237 (20.1%) having...

Debate continues regarding the long-term clinical and hemodynamic benefit of homograft replacement of the diseased mitral valve. The results of valve replacement with mitral homografts in the 120 patients who have had operation at the Stanford Medical Center from May 1967 to November 1970 are given. The operative mortality rate has been 5% and the late mortality rate 6%. Anticoagulants were sto...

BACKGROUND To report early and long-term outcomes of patients undergoing minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MIMVS) through right mini-thoracotomy (RT) over a 10-year period. METHODS From September 2003 to December 2013, a total of 1604 consecutive patients underwent MIMVS through RT. RESULTS The mean age was 63 ± 13 years, 770 (48 %) patients were female and 218 (13.6 %) had previous ...