Mitral valve repair

• A lot of experience is required not only to repair valves successfully but to know when a valve can be repaired and when it should be replaced.
• MUSC successfully repairs nearly 75 percent of all repairable mitral valves.
• Deciding whether a mitral valve should be repaired or replaced depends on the underlying pathology causing the valve to malfunction.
• Regurgitant valves typically can be repaired if the problem is a ruptured chord or degenerative leaflets.
• Valves are less likely to be repairable in the context of ischemic heart disease.
• Valvular stenosis usually means the valve should be replaced.

Advantages

• Saves the native tissue and repairs the valve instead of replacing it
• Helps avoid the use of long-term anticoagulant medication required with mechanical heart valves

“We go into a repairable mitral valve operation with the mindset that we are going to repair the valve. But if we look at it and decide it just can’t be repaired, we replace it.” — Dr. Crawford