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 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