Mitral Valve Replacement after Failed Mitral Ring Insertion with or without Leaflet/Chordal Repair for Pure Mitral Regurgitation

Abstract Mitral repair operations for correction of pure mitral regurgitation (MR) are generally quite successful. Occasionally, however, the reparative procedure incompletely corrects the MR or the MR recurs. From March 1993 to January 2016, twenty nine patients had mitral valve replacement after the initial mitral repair operation, and observations in them were analyzed. All 29 patients at the repair operation had an annular ring inserted and later (< 1 year in 6 and > 1 year in 21) mitral valve replacement. The cause of the MR before the repair operation appears to have been prolapse in 16 patients (55%), secondary (functional) in 12 (41%) (ischemic in 5), and infective endocarditis which healed in 1 (3%). At the replacement operation the excised anterior mitral leaflet was thickened in all 29 patients. Some degree of stenosis appeared to have been present in 16 of the 29 patients before the replacement operation, although only 10 had an echocardiographic or hemodynamic recording of a transvalvular gradient; at least 11 patients had restricted motion of the posterior mitral leaflet; 10, ring dehiscence; 2 severe hemolysis, and 2, left ventricular outflow obstruction. In conclusion, there are multiple reasons for valve replacement after earlier mitral repair. Uniformly, at the time of the replacement, the mitral leaflets were thickened by fibrous tissue. Measurement of the area enclosed by the 360o rings and study of the excised leaflet suggest that the ring itself may have contributed to the leaflet scarring and development of some transmitral stenosis.