Mitral valve repair a 12-year-old girl with rheumatic mitral stenosis. The development of the heart-lung machine in the 1950s paved the way for "replacement" of the mitral valve with an artificial valve in the 1960s. For decades after, mitral valve replacement was the only surgical option for patients with a severely diseased mitral valve. However, there are some significant downsides to a prosthetic mitral valve. Infection of the valve can occur, which is dangerous and difficult to treat. Patients with mechanical heart valves are required to take blood thinners for the rest of their lives, which presents a risk of bleeding complications. The
Mitral valve annuloplasty the native annulus and some of its natural dynamics. The goal of semi-rigid rings is to maintain coaptation and valve integrity during systole, while allowing for good hemodynamics during diastole. Rigid rings are designed to provide rigid support in large dilation and under high-pressure. Annuloplasty devices usually come in different sizes. The surgeon can estimate the dimensions of the patient’s mitral valve and decide on an appropriate ring size. Depending on the disease etiology, different approaches are taken. Surgeons can decide to "undersize" the device, "truesize" the device, or "oversize" it. Annuloplasty devices are classified by the U.S. Food and