“A Prospective Randomized Case-Control Study To Evaluate Mini Right Thoracotomy versus Conventional Sternotomy For Mitral Valve Repair In Rheumatic Heart Disease.”

Purpose: Right mini thoracotomy has been evaluated in many studies for mitral valve repair mainly in degenerative valvular disease but not in rheumatic heart disease. Mitral valve repair is more challenging in rheumatic etiology due to complexity of lesions. This prospective randomized case control study was designed to evaluate repair through mini right thoracotomy and to compare the clinical and echocardiographic outcomes with sternotomy in rheumatic patients. Methods: 25 patients of rheumatic heart disease underwent mitral valve repair through mini right thoracotomy (group I). Various clinical and functional parameters were compared with 25 patients of mitral valve repair through sternotomy (group II). On follow up the results were compared in both groups for clinical and echocardiographic parameters. Results: The various pre-operative demographic parameters were comparable in two groups. Equal rate of mitral valve repair (group I-21/25, 84% and group II-21/25, 84%) was achieved in both groups. The various intra-operative and post-operative clinical parameters were better in group I .There were equivalent functional and valve related outcomes in both groups in term of NYHA class (1.28 ± 0.613 vs 1.08 ± 0.276, P = 0.144), post-operative mitral valve area (2.43 ± 0.891 vs 2.82 ± 0.662, P = 0.090), incidence of more than mild mitral regurgitation (0) and mean pressure gradient across mitral valve (4.98 ± 3.33 vs 4.23 ± 1.5, P = 0.309). Conclusion: Mitral valve repair through mini right thoracotomy approach in rheumatic etiology is feasible and safe with equivalent rate of successful repair as compared to median sternotomy. It is associated with lesser morbidity, cosmetic advantage and lesser resource utilization.

One-year outcome of percutaneous mitral valve repair in patients with severe symptomatic mitral valve regurgitation

AIM To investigate one-year outcomes after percutaneous mitral valve repair with Mitra Clip~? in patients with severe mitral regurgitation(MR). METHODS Our study investigated consecutive patients with symptomatic severe MR who underwent Mitra Clip~?implantation at the University Hospital Bergmannsheil from 2012 to 2014. The primary study end-point was all-cause mortality. Secondary end-points were degree of MR and functional status after percutaneous mitral valve repair.RESULTS The study population consisted of 46 consecutive patients(mean logistic Euro SCORE 32% ± 21%). The degree of MR decreased significantly(severe MR before Mitra Clip~? 100% vs after Mitra Clip~? 13%; P < 0.001),and the NYHA functional classes improved(NYHA III/IV before Mitra Clip~? 98% vs after Mitra Clip~? 35%; P < 0.001). The mortality rates 30 d and one year after percutaneous mitral valve repair were 4.3% and 19.5%,respectively. During the follow-up of 473 ± 274 d,11 patients died(90% due to cardiovascular death). A preprocedural plasma B-type natriuretic peptide level > 817 pg/m L was associated with all-cause mortality(hazard ratio,6.074; 95%CI: 1.257-29.239; P = 0.012).CONCLUSION Percutaneous mitral valve repair with Mitra Clip~? has positive effects on hemodynamics and symptoms. Despite the study patients' multiple comorbidities and extremely high operative risk,one-year outcomes after Mitra Clip~? are favorable. Elevated B-type natriuretic peptide levels indicate poorer mid-term survival.

Application of real-time 3d echocardiography in mitral valve repair for replacement of chordae tendineae

Objective To investigate the surgical technique and outcomes of replacement of chordae tendineae in mitral valve repair,and evaluate the value of real-time three-di-mensional transesophageal echocardiography in the perioperative period. Methods Thirty-one patients with mitral valve prolapse underwent mitral valve repair using chordae tendineae replacement concomitant with implantation

Echocardiographic Follow-up of Robotic Mitral Valve Repair for Mitral Regurgitation due to Degenerative Disease

Background： Mitral valve （MV） repair can now be carried out through small incisions with the use of robotic assistance. Previous reports have demonstrated the excellent clinical result of robotic MV repair for degenerative mitral regurgitation （MR）. However, there has been limited infomlation regarding tile echocardiographic follow-up of these patients. The present study was therefore to evaluate the echocardiographic follow-up outcomes after robotic MV repair in patients with MR due to degenerative disease of the MV. Methods： A retrospective analysis was undertaken using data from the echocardiographic database of our department. Between March 2007 and February 2015, 84 patients with degenerative MR underwent robotic MV repair. The repair techniques included leaflet resection in 67 patients （79.8%）, artificial chordae in 20 （23.8%）, and ring annuloplasty in 79 （94.1%）. Eighty-one （96.4%） of the 84 patients were eligible for echocardiographic follow-up assessment, and no patients were lost to follow-up. Results： At a median echocardiographic follow-up of 36.0 months （interquartile range 14.3-59.4 months）, lbur patients （4.9%） developed recurrent mild MR, and no patients had more than mild MR. Mean MR grade, leli atrial diameter （LAD）, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter （LVEDD）, and let1 ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF） were significantly decreased when compared with preoperative values. Mean MR grade decreased from 3.96 ± 0.13 to 0.17 ± 0.49 （Z- -8.456, P 〈 0.001 ）, LAD from 43.8 ± 5.9 to 35.5 ± 3.8 mm （I - 15.131, P 〈 0.001 ）, LVEDD fiom 51.0 ± 5.0 to 43.3 ± 2.2 mm （t = 14.481, P 〈 0.001 ）, and LV EF l＇rom 67.3 ± 7.0% to 63.9 ± 5.1% （t = 4.585, P 〈 0.001 ）. Conclusion： Robotic MV repair for MR due to degenerative disease is associated with a low rate of recurrent MR, and a significant improvement in MR grade, LAD, and LVEDD, but a significant decrease in LVEF at echocardiographic follow-up.

Mitral Valve Surgery for Functional Regurgitation: Insights into Heart Failure and Readmission

Background: Functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is an increasing burden as population ages. Mitral valve repair (MVr) is the preferred surgical treatment of FMR despite limited evidence supporting its efficacy. Mitral valve replacement (MVR) is the alternative procedure typically reserved for patients who are at higher risk or refractory to MVr. The present study aims to determine which of the two procedures is more effective in the surgical treatment of FMR. Methods: 344 charts of FMR patients who received either MVr (n = 263) or MVR (n = 81) from 2004-2016 at our institution were reviewed. Treatment efficacy was assessed based on heart failure (HF)-readmission and survival rates within 5 years from discharge. Propensity score approach with inverse probability weighting and Cox regression models were employed to evaluate procedural impact on survival and rehospitalizations, respectively. Follow-up echocardiographic data from the original cohort was assessed for differences in metrics between procedural groups at >6 months (MVr: n = 75;MVR: n = 23) and 1 year (MVr: n = 75;MVR: n = 18) post-op. Results: MVR patients had a lower risk of being readmitted for HF within 5 years compared to the MVr group (HR-adj (95% CI): 0.60 (0.41 - 0.88), p = 0.008). MVR patients also had a higher overall risk of death (HR-adj (95% CI): 1.82 (1.05 - 3.16), p = 0.034) but this was borderline significantly different at 5 years cut-off (p = 0.057). Conclusions: Higher HF readmission in MVr patients than in sicker, higher surgical-risk MVR patients reflects the inadequacy of MVr to treat FMR. Novel approaches to MVR may be necessary to adequately manage FMR.

Edge-to-edge chordal transfer repair for anterior leaflet prolapse of mitral valve in 21 patients

Background Repair of anterior mitral leaflet （AML） prolapse is still a technical challenge for cardiac surgeons. It is an important issue to find a way to repair the AML prolapse with a reliable and reproducible technique.Methods Between January 2002 and June 2009, the operation of chordal transfer based on the ＂edge-to-edge＂technique was performed in 21 patients with serious mitral valve regurgitation because of prolapse of the anterior leaflet.After the operation, echocardiography was performed in each patient before discharge and at the time of follow-up.Results All patients survived the operation. One patient required mitral valve replacement because of anterior leaflet perforation 3 days after the operation. The other patients were free from reoperation. At the time of follow-up, all these patients were in New York Heart Association （NYHA） functional class I. In all these patients, pre-discharge and follow-up echocardiography showed neither stenosis nor significant regurgitation of the mitral valve： the cross-sectional area of the mitral valve was 3.3-4.8 cm2 （mean （3.78：±0.52） cm2）, the mean regurgitation area was （0.45：±0.22） cm2. At the same time, both dimension of left atrium and left ventricle reduced significantly （left atrium diameter： pre-operation （48.26±11.12） mm, post-operation （37.57±9.56） mm, P 〈0.05; the end-diastolic diameter of the left ventricle：pre-operation （61.43±8.24） mm, post-operation （42.35±10.79） mm, P〈0.01）.Conclusion ＂Edge-to-edge＂ chordal transfer technique is a simple, reliable, and reproducible technique that can provide good results for repair of anterior leaflet prolapse of mitral valve.

Comparison of the Outcomes of Modified Artificial Chordae Technique for Mitral Regurgitation through Right Minithoracotomy or Median Sternotomy

Background： Right minithoracotomy （RM） has been proven to be a sate and effective approach for mitral valve surgery, but the differences of artificial chordae technique between RM and median sternotomy （MS） were seldom reported. Here, we compared the outcomes of modified artificial chordae technique for mitral regurgitation （MR） through RM or MS approaches. Methods： One hundred and eighteen consecutive adult patients who received mitral valve repair with artificial chordae and annuloplasty for MR through RM （n = 58） or MS （n = 60） from January 2006 to January 2015 were analyzed. Results： All of the selected patients underwent mitral valve repair successfully without any complication during the surgery. There was no significant difference between RM group and MS group in cardiopuhnonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time, and early postoperative complications. However, compared with the MS group, the RM group had shorter hospital stay and taster surgical recovery. At a mean follow-up of 44.8 ± 25.0 months, the freedom from more than moderate MR was 93.9% ± 3.5% in RM group and 94.8% ± 2.9% in MS group at 3 years postoperatively. Log-rank test showed that there was no significant difference in the freedom from recurrent significant MR between the two groups （Х^2= 0.247, P = 0.619）. Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of mild MR at discharge was the independent risk factor for the recurrent significant MR. Conclusion： Right minithoracotomy can achieve the similar therapeutic effects with MS for the patients who received modified artificial chordae technique for treating MR.

Detachment Force of the Helical Anchor in Mitral Annulus

Helical anchors are used in transcatheter mitral valve repair,The alin of the curent study was to invest igate effectof helical anchor dsign,anchored position and biting depth on the detachment force in an in vitro eperiment.Mitral annulus was excised from 36 fresh porcine hearts and mounted in an unaxdal test ng.Seven helical anchorswere made of stainles ste based on the geometric parameters outer dlameter,wire diameter,and pich Thehelical anchors were serewedin at 3 to 9 odock positions of the psteroranuhis,namely,P3-9,and puld out.The pullout fore was measured with the maximal pullout force defined as the detachment force,The detachmentforce within the medlal ateal and central positions were comparable(p≥0.069),The detachmnen force at P6was bowest compared wih the medlal and lateral positons,and was 5.459±0.193 N,5.586±0.113 N,8.910.250 for the anchos in the outer dlameters of3,4,5 mm,respectivelyat the pitch of 2 mm and thewire dlameter of.4 mm and blting depth of 3 colls The detachment force hncreased with the outer and wiredlameters but was not fected by thepichat the bitig depthof 3 cols(@≥0.279).The detachment force of thehelieal anchor is lowest in the central posterlor annulus region,and the biting depth in 3 or more coll is rec.ommended.The helical anchor is stronger than the suture.