Results of mitral valve reconstruction in mitral valve insufficiency

In the last three years forty mitral valve reconstruction (MR) procedures were performed in case of mitral insufficiency (MI). In three cases, anatomical changes made reconstruction impossible for us. One patient had to be re-operated because of unsatisfactory valve function. There was no operative mortality. In twelve of the patients, mitral insufficiency was the only problem, while in twenty eight others additional cardiac procedures (CABG, AVR) were performed. The patients' age ranged from 17 to 77 years. The aortic cross-clamping time for mitral reconstruction without additional cardiac procedures ranged from 35 to 134 minutes. With one exception, the post-operative TEE indicated no, or very little, insufficiency. We concluded that the mitral valve insufficiency can be corrected with very good results and with a very low rate of complications. Such corrections ought therefore be taken into consideration before valve replacement.