title: Repeat mitral commissurotomy: long-term results.
abstract: Fifty-three patients underwent reoperation for open mitral commissurotomy (OMC) with one (1.9%) in-hospital death. The previous mitral operation was an OMC in 14 patients and a closed commissurotomy in 39. Mean age at the time of repeat OMC was 46 years (range 27 to 64), and NYHA functional class was II in 19 patients, III in 31, and IV in three. Follow-up of the 52 in-hospital survivors at a postoperative interval of 1 to 23 years (mean 10) documented 13 late deaths (mean interval 117 months, range 17 to 209) and survival of 96%, 83%, and 63% at 5, 10, and 15 postoperative years, respectively. Sixteen patients underwent subsequent mitral valve surgery (one OMC and 15 mitral valve replacements) 1 to 223 months after repeat OMC (mean 99), three patients within 5 years of repeat OMC. Reoperation-free survival was 94%, 74%, and 52% at 5, 10, and 15 postoperative years, respectively. Univariate testing did not document any correlation between age, functional class, rhythm, and either survival or reoperation-free survival. When feasible, repeat OMC can afford patients excellent long-term survival and relative freedom from prosthetic valve replacement.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000601:surgery; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D012086:Reoperation; D012306:Risk; D013997:Time Factors