Minimally invasive mitral valve repair using premeasured Gore-Tex Loops

• Published in: The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon
• Main Authors: Kuntze, T, Seeburger, J, Falk, V, Onnasch, J, Czesla, M, Ender, J, Walther, T, Borger, M, Funkat, AK, Mohr, FW
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: 27.03.2007
• ISSN: 0171-6425; 1439-1902
• DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-967282

Objective: Minimally invasive surgery is becoming a well accepted approach for isolated mitral valve surgery. We report our experience with premeasured Gore-Tex Loops for mitral valve reconstruction. Methods: 401 patients (279 male, 122 female) underwent elective mitral surgery for minimally invasive mitral valve reconstruction with Gore-Tex Loops. Mean age was 57.9±12.4 years. All patients were diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse of the anterior, posterior or both leaflets. All operations were performed with femoral cannulation, a Chitwood clamp for aortic cross clamping, and Bretschneider cardioplegia. Results: Mean operation time was 152±70min, CPB-duration was 119±105min, and aortic-clamp time was 86±28min. In 198 patients Loops were used for the posterior leaflet only, in 76 patients for the anterior leaflet only, and in 127 patients for both leaflets. The mean length of Gore-Tex Loops was 20.6±3.4mm for the A2 segment and 14.6±3.1mm for the P2 segment. 272 patients had complete annuloplasty rings and 129 received partial rings, with a mean size of 32.7±2.5mm. Concomitant procedures consisted of atrial cryoablation in 86 patients, closure of atrial septum defects in 35 patients, and tricuspid valve reconstruction in 15 patients. Early postoperative echocardiography revealed that 74.1% of patients had grade 0 mitral insufficiency, 24.7% had grade 1, and 1.2% had grade 2. Thirty-day survival was 98.8%, and one year survival was 96.8%. Conclusion: Minimally invasive mitral valve repair with premeasured Gore-Tex Loops is an appropriate procedure for all types of leaflet prolapse and provides very good, reliable results.