Mitral Valve Repair In Patients With Infective Endocarditis

Background The goal of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of mitral valvle repair in patients with infective endocarditis (IE).Methods and Results Twenty-one patients who had undergone mitral valve surgery for IE were reviewed. Valve repair was performed in 8 patients with active and in 6 patients with healed endocarditis: 6 of these 14 patients were New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III or IV preoperatively. Valve replacement was performed in 5 patients with active endocarditis and in 2 with healed endocarditis: 6 of these 7 patients were NYHA functional class III or IV preoperatively. Repair techniques included annuloplasty (n=13), resection-suture (n=13), chordal transfer (n=2), and closure of the perforation (n=3). In the valve replacement group, 6 patients required concomitant aortic valve replacement. In the valve repair group, 1 patient died and 1 patient required reoperation for recurrent mitral regurgitation. Postoperative echocardiography demonstrated no (n=8) or mild (n=4) mitral regurgitation at the last follow-up examination. In the valve replacement group, 1 patient died and 1 patient required reoperation because of a paravalvular leak. No cases of recurrent infection occurred in either group.Conclusions Mitral valve repair in patients with IE is feasible and has low morbidity.