The first four cases of successful NeoChord procedure in Chinese mainland

BACKGROUND:Transapical off-pump NeoChord procedure is a novel minimally invasive surgical repair of degenerative mitral regurgitation(MR).Here,we report the first four cases of NeoChord procedure in patients with mitral valve prolapse in Chinese mainland.METHODS:Four patients,aged 86,84,80 and 60 years,with severe MR due to posterior middle scallop prolapse(P2),underwent transapical off-pump artifi cial chordae implantation on April 9 and 10,2019.The procedure was performed by left mini-thoracotomy under general anaesthesia and guided by 2D and 3D dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography(TEE).RESULTS:Mitral valve repair via NeoChord procedure was successfully performed with implantation of 3 artifi cial chordae in the fi rst patient and 3,2,and 3 artifi cial chordae in the following patients,respectively.Intraoperative TEE and pre-discharge transthoracic echocardiography(TTE)showed only mild to moderate MR of these four patients and no postoperative complications were noted.There were no changes of TTE fi nding between one-month follow-up and pre-discharge.CONCLUSION:The successful NeoChord procedures in four Chinese indicate that the valve repair using the NeoChord system for Chinese population is feasible.