Advantages of open mind commissurotomy using a triple-orifice technique.
Our experience over an eight-year period with the operative relief of mitral stenosis is reviewed and detailed. Of the 106 patients in the series, 80% had minimal or no calcification, 17% had moderate calcification, and 4% had severe calcium deposits in the valve. Four patients have required reoperation for recurrent stenosis, with valve replacement in 3 and a second commissurotomy in the fourth. Left atrial thrombus was encountered in 16%, and no patient with thrombus experienced embolization in the postoperative period. One postoperative death occurred within 30 days, and a single late death occured 35 days after operation. For the scarred, retracted mitral valve we have utilized a multiple-orifice technique that provides maximal flow without the risk of inducing significant mitral insufficiency.
D000328:Adult; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012008:Recurrence