Mitral Valve Repair

Mitral valve repair is a cardiac surgery procedure performed by cardiac surgeons to treat stenosis, or narrowing, or regurgitation, or leakage, of the mitral valve, which acts as the inflow valve for the left side of the heart, allowing blood to flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle and then closing to prevent blood from leaking back into the left atrium or lungs. Repair techniques include inserting a cloth covered ring around the valve to bring its two leaflets into contact with each other, an operation called annuloplasty, removal of redundant or loose segments of the leaflets known as quadrangular resection, and re-suspension of the leaflets with artificial cords. Procedures on the mitral valve usually require a median sternotomy, though advances in minimally invasive keyhole surgery allow the operation without a sternotomy, at the cost of a more technically demanding and potentially higher risk procedure. The mitral valve can be abnormal from birth, or become abnormal with age, rheumatic fever, infection or bacterial endocarditis, or as a result of ischemic or non-ischemic heart disease.