Congenital mitral valve surgery: techniques and results.
OBJECTIVE
Congenital lesions of the mitral valve are rare. Conservative surgery is recognized as the best option. In complex anatomy, however, replacement is the only solution to achieve an acceptable result. This review aims to study the long-term follow-up of classical treatments, conservative or replacement, and to examine new technical advances.


RESULTS
The long-term results of conservative surgery are confirmed with a low incidence of reoperation except in mitral valve stenosis. The Ross II operation using a pulmonary autograft is a difficult technique that may be useful in the youngest patient group when prosthetic devices cannot be used.


CONCLUSIONS
In the last few years, surgery of congenital mitral valve lesions has gained from echocardiography, which shows the exact function and anatomy of the mitral valve. The tendency is to avoid multistage operations. Valve replacement by biologic material (Ross II) is still under clinical evaluation.
Department of Cardiac Surgery, Européen Georges Pompidou Hospital, Paris, France. sylvain.chauvaud@egp.ap-hop-paris.fr
Sylvain
S
Chauvaud
D000328:Adult; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000601:surgery*; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000151:congenital* / Q000601:surgery*; D008945:Mitral Valve Prolapse / Q000151:congenital* / Q000601:surgery; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000151:congenital* / Q000601:surgery*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011664:Pulmonary Valve / Q000637:transplantation*; D013536:Suture Techniques