title: Echocardiographic assessment of the effects of mitral valve repair on mitral valve geometry in rheumatic mitral stenosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  While mitral valve replacement is generally considered as the standard surgical treatment for rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS), mitral valve repair may be an alternative therapeutic option. Several techniques have been used to overcome the anatomic difficulties involved in the repair of a rheumatic mitral valve. In the present study, quantitative echocardiography was used to investigate the effects of mitral valve repair and the influence of surgical procedures on mitral valve geometry in patients with rheumatic MS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mitral valve repair was successfully performed in seven patients with MS, by the same surgeon. Ring annuloplasty and slicing of the anterior mitral leaflet (AML) were performed in all patients. Concomitant surgical techniques included commissurotomy, decalcification, chordal resection, and division of the papillary muscles. The preoperative and postoperative echocardiographic findings in these patients were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The thickness of both the AML and posterior mitral leaflet (PML) (p = 0.01 for both), the opening angles of the AML (p = 0.02) and PML (p = 0.01), and the closing angle of the PML, the extent of calcification in the AML, and the pressure half-time (PHT) (p = 0.03 for all three parameters) were all significantly improved after mitral valve repair.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present study, the transmitral peak velocity and mean pressure gradient were not significantly changed after mitral valve repair, whereas the PHT showed a marked improvement. Hence, the PHT may represent a suitable marker for evaluating the efficacy of mitral valve repair for MS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Haruka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Makinae
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Daimon
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tambara
authors.forename: Sakiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwamura
authors.forename: Motoshige
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.forename: Taira
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Daida
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012214:Rheumatic Heart Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome