Mitral valve annuloplasty double by the year 2030. Every year, 300,000 people worldwide undergo open heart surgery for mitral valve repair, 44,000 people in the US alone. Since it was initially established 40 years ago by Professor Alain Carpentier, mitral valve annuloplasty has been continuously improved and is considered the gold standard for the treatment of most etiologies of mitral valve dysfunction today. The goal of mitral valve annuloplasty is to regain mitral valve competence by restoring the physiological form and function of the normal mitral valve apparatus. Under normal conditions the mitral valve undergoes significant dynamic changes in shape and size throughout
Mitral valve annuloplasty are believed to be key to optimize leaflet coaptation and to minimize tissue stresses. The challenge of mitral valve annuloplasty is to improve the diseased and distorted shape of the mitral valve and to reestablish the physiological configuration, while preserving normal annular dynamics. Today, cardiac surgeons can select from a variety of annuloplasty devices, flexible, semi-rigid, or rigid, incomplete or complete, planar or saddle-shaped, adjustable and non-adjustable. While the general goal of all devices is the same, namely to increase leaflet coaptation and to support the posterior annulus against dilation, flexible bands are designed to maintain the three-dimensional contour of