The hypoplastic mitral valve. When should a left atrial-left ventricular extracardiac valved conduit be used?

Limited experimental and clinical experience with extracardiac bypass of the mitral valve has been reported. We describe the case history of a 3-year-old child in whom a left atrial-left ventricular valved conduit was successfully used to bypass a severely hypoplastic parachute mitral valve. The potential applications of this unconventional surgical option are reviewed.