Early results of a simplified method of mitral valve annuloplasty

We hypothesized that a simple, unmeasured posterior annuloplasty technique (two thirds of a 27-mm Duran ring) offered advantages of standardization and ease of insertion.

A consecutive series of all patients (n = 418; median age, 67 years) having mitral valve repair performed by two surgeons was analyzed to determine the outcome of three different annuloplasty techniques: commissural annuloplasty (n = 124), complete ring annuloplasty (n = 113), and an unmeasured, posterior, partial ring annuloplasty (n = 181). Intraoperatively, before repair, severity of mitral regurgitation as measured by double sampling dye curves and transesophageal echocardiography was similar in all three groups; after mitral valve repair, intraoperative assessment showed a similar degree of reduction in regurgitation in the three annuloplasty groups. Before hospital dismissal, transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated that the mean mitral valve areas and gradients were similar in the three groups; more patients having commissural annuloplasty were classified as having grade II or greater regurgitation. Mortality (n = 7, 1.7%) and need for reoperation (n = 8, 1.9%) was low in all groups despite the fact that additional procedures were performed in 48.8% of patients. Durations of cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamping were significantly less in patients having commissural or posterior annuloplasties compared with those receiving a complete ring annuloplasty.

These early results indicate that the posterior annuloplasty method is reproducible and expeditious. Postoperative valve function as assessed by degree of regurgitation, transvalvular gradient, and valve area was similar to that obtained by measured, complete ring annuloplasty and superior to that found in patients having commissural annuloplasty.