Mitral valve repair surgery is much more technically demanding and may involve higher risk. Occasionally, the mitral valve is abnormal from birth (congenital). More often the mitral valve becomes abnormal with age (degenerative) or as a result of rheumatic fever. In rare instances the mitral valve can be destroyed by infection or a bacterial endocarditis. Mitral regurgitation may also occur as a result of ischemic heart disease (coronary artery disease) or non-ischemic heart disease (dilated cardiomyopathy). In 1923 Dr. Elliott Cutler of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital performed the world’s first successful heart valve surgery – a mitral valve "repair". The patient was
Mitral insufficiency mitral valve prolapse or atrial fibrillation. In general, medical therapy is non-curative and is used for mild-to-moderate regurgitation or in patients unable to tolerate surgery. Surgery is curative of mitral valve regurgitation. There are two surgical options for the treatment of MI: mitral valve replacement and mitral valve repair. Mitral valve repair is preferred to mitral valve replacement where a repair is feasible as bioprosthetic replacement valves have a limited lifespan of 10 to 15 years, whereas synthetic replacement valves require ongoing use of blood thinners to reduce the risk of stroke. There are two general categories of approaches to