Surgical treatment of congenital mitral valve disease: midterm results of a repair-oriented policy

Abstract

Objective: Management of congenital mitral valve disease is challenging because of a wide morphologic spectrum, frequent associated lesions, and small patient size. We evaluated the results of a repair-oriented policy.

Methods: All consecutive patients with congenital mitral valve disease who underwent surgery between 1996 and 2006 were studied retrospectively. Patients with atrioventricular canal, atrioventricular discordance, or ischemic regurgitation were excluded.

Results: During this period, 71 children (median age 2.9 years, range 3 days-20.8 years) underwent surgery. All but 1 underwent primary mitral valve repair. Twenty-two (30%) were younger than 12 months. Associated cardiac lesions were present in 45 children (63%) and were addressed concurrently in 35; previous cardiac procedures had been performed in 17 patients (24%). Mitral incompetence was predominant in 60 (85%) and stenosis in 11 (15%). During a median follow-up of 47.8 months (range 2-120 months), 14 patients underwent 17 mitral reinterventions: 14 repairs and 3 replacements. After 60 months, overall survival was 94% +/- 2.8%; freedoms from reoperation and prosthesis implantation were 76% +/- 5.6% and 94% +/- 3.6%, respectively. There were 4 deaths, and all survivors remain in New York Heart Association class I or II with moderate (6 patients) or less mitral dysfunction.

Conclusion: Surgical repair of the congenital mitral valve can be successfully performed with low mortality, satisfactory valvular function at midterm follow-up, and acceptable reoperation rate while obviating risks associated with valvular prostheses. Suboptimal primary repair was significant predictor for reoperation but re-repair was often successful.