Long-term outcomes of mitral valve repair for isolated commissural prolapse: up to 17-year experience

Diagnostic Accuracy of Transesophageal Echocardiographic Commissural-Biplane Approach in Identifying Mitral Valve Anatomy

BACKGROUND

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) conventional multiplane approach (MPA) and the newly proposed commissural-biplane approach (CBA) are the recommended algorithms for identifying the affected mitral valve (MV) segments in the setting of mitral regurgitation. To date, there are no reports to address the diagnostic performance of CBA. In this study we aim to analyze the diagnostic accuracy of CBA and MPA in comparison with three-dimensional echocardiographic findings in patients with severe mitral regurgitation.

METHODS

We prospectively enrolled 102 patients with severe mitral regurgitation. All patients underwent systematic TEE assessment of MV before surgical intervention to define the affected MV segments/scallops. The standard MPA includes 4-chamber, 2-chamber, long-axis, and commissural views; CBA was performed by obtaining the bicommissural view and simultaneous biplane imaging of the medial, middle, and lateral MV aspects. The findings of both TEE approaches were compared with three-dimensional TEE data to assess the diagnostic accuracy of MPA and CBA.

RESULTS

The mean patient age was (65 ± 11) years, and 37 (36.3%) were female. We found that CBA had an overall diagnostic accuracy between 88% and 97% in identifying the abnormal MV scallops; in contrast, MPA accuracy ranged between 82% and 95%. The CBA and MPA were the least accurate in identifying the P3 scallop-88% and 82% respectively; however, both were the most accurate in assessing the A2 segment-95% and 97%, respectively. The sensitivity of identifying commissural abnormalities was 80% with CBA and 30% with MPA. Three-dimensional TEE was found to have a strong agreement with CBA (averaged kappa of 0.81, P < .0001) and a modest agreement with MPA (averaged kappa of 0.61, P < .0001) in identifying abnormal anterior or posterior segments. On the other hand, three-dimensional TEE had a weak agreement with CBA (kappa of 0.43, P < .0001) and no agreement with MPA (kappa of 0.14, P = .153) in the assessment of commissural involvements.

CONCLUSION

The CBA is more accurate than the MPA in the assessment of MV commissural involvement. Given the accuracy differences of the 2 approaches for specific leaflet/scallops, a comprehensive evaluation using both approaches is recommended for all MV scallop assessments.

Mitral and tricuspid annuloplasty ring dehiscence: a systematic review with pooled analysis

 

OBJECTIVES

Mitral and tricuspid ring annuloplasty dehiscence with consequent recurrent valve regurgitation is a rare but challenging procedural failure. The incidence and predisposing risk factors for annuloplasty ring dehiscence include technical and pathological ones.

METHODS

A systematic database search with pooled analysis was conducted of original articles that only included dehiscence rate of mitral and tricuspid ring in EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane database and Google Scholar, from inception to November 2020. The outcomes included were dehiscence rate in mitral and tricuspid, type of ring implanted, dehiscence rate by pathology and by ring size and shape.

RESULTS

Our search yielded 821 relevant studies. Thirty-three studies met the inclusion criteria with a total of 10 340 patients (6543 mitral, 1414 tricuspid) of which 87 (mitral) and 30 (tricuspid) had dehiscence. Overall, dehiscence rate was 1.43%, diagnosed at a median of 4.5 ± 1.0 months postoperatively. A significant difference in mitral dehiscence rate was found by ring type (semi-rigid 1.86%, rigid 2.32%; flexible 0.43%; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in rate of dehiscence by ring size (P = 0.067) and shape in mitral (P = 0.281) but there was higher dehiscence rate in ischaemic compared to non-ischaemic mitral regurgitation (3.91% vs 1.63%; P = 0.022). Among tricuspid studies, 9 of 10 studies did not report any dehiscence.

CONCLUSIONS

Although rigid, semi-rigid and flexible annuloplasty rings provide acceptable valve repair outcomes, mitral annuloplasty ring dehiscence is clinically more common among rigid rings. Understanding the multifactorial nature of ring dehiscence will help in identifying the patients at high risk and improve their clinical outcomes.

Mitral commissural prolapse

Mitral commissural prolapse or flail, either isolated or combined with more extensive degenerative valve disease, imposes several challenges both on its diagnosis and management while being a risk factor for valve reoperation after mitral valve repair. Accurate identification of the prolapsing segment is often not feasible with transthoracic 2D echocardiography, with transesophageal 3D imaging then required for correct diagnosis and surgical planning. Various surgical techniques employed alone or in combination have yielded good results in the repair of commissural prolapse. Herein, we analyze the specific characteristics of commissural disease focusing our attention on 2D and 3D echocardiographic findings and we briefly comment on techniques employed for surgical correction of the disease.

Modified commissural plication in mitral valve repair for commissural prolapse

Commissural plication is a simple and useful technique for commissural prolapse repair. However, simple plication may not work when the diseased commissure is thick or calcified. In such cases, we incise the commissure towards the annulus and bring two separate parts of the commissural leaflet back together by sewing the atrial sides of each part. This modified commissural plication technique is still very simple and effective even for thick or calcified commissural lesions because it minimizes tension on the commissural sutures.

Recurrent mitral regurgitation after mitral valve repair for bileaflet lesions in the modern era

Background

Good mid-term durability of mitral valve repair of bileaflet lesions has been reported; however, patients may develop failure during follow-up. This study assessed late outcomes and mechanisms of failure associated with mitral valve repair of bileaflet lesions.

Methods

Fifty-six patients (mean age 67 ± 12 years) underwent mitral valve repair of bileaflet lesions due to degenerative disease in 2011–2018. Mitral annuloplasty was added to all procedures except for 1 patient with annular calcification. Mitral valve lesions were identified by surgical inspection. Mean clinical and echocardiography follow-up occurred at 2.7 ± 2.1 and 2.5 ± 1.9 years, respectively.

Results

Additional mitral valve repair techniques involved triangular resection (n = 15 patients), quadrangular resection with sliding plasty (n = 12), neochordoplasty (n = 52), and commissural plication (n = 26). Prolapse of ≥2 anterior and posterior leaflet scallops occurred in 22 (39%) and 30 (54%) patients, respectively. During follow-up, 10 (17.8%) patients developed moderate or severe mitral regurgitation. Whereas prolapse or tethering was observed early after neochordoplasty or quadrangular resection, recurrent regurgitation occurred late after commissural repair. Five-year freedom from recurrent moderate or severe mitral regurgitation rates was 71.1 ± 11.0%.

Conclusions

Seventeen percent of patients developed recurrent mitral regurgitation during follow-up. Repair failure in the early phase occurred owing to aggressive resection of the posterior mitral leaflet or maladjustment of the artificial neochordae. Recurrent mitral regurgitation might occur in the late phase even after acceptable commissural repair. A sequential approach may be useful to improve the quality of mitral valve repair in bileaflet lesions.

Combined mitral valve repair and heart transplantation

In times of donor organ shortage, organs with extended allocation criteria, for example, valve pathologies, have to be taken into consideration for transplantation. The donor pool can be extended to hearts with mitral valve insufficiency. Mitral valve repair can rapidly be performed in the donor heart on the back table with excellent results.

Is Mitral Valve Repair Superior to Mitral Valve Replacement in Elderly Patients? Comparison of Short- and Long-Term Outcomes in a Propensity-Matched Cohort

Background

Because of demographic changes, a growing number of elderly patients present with mitral valve (MV) disease. Although mitral valve repair (MV‐repair) is the “gold standard” treatment for MV disease, in elderly patients, there is controversy about whether MV‐repair is superior to mitral valve replacement. We reviewed results after MV surgery in elderly patients treated over the past 20 years.

Methods and Results

Our in‐hospital database was explored for patients who underwent MV surgery between 1994 and 2015. Survival data, obtained from the National Health Service central register, were complete for all patients. Of 1776 patients with MV disease, 341 were aged ≥75 years. Patients with repeat cardiac surgery, endocarditis, and concomitant aortic valve replacement were excluded. This yielded 221 MV‐repair and 120 mitral valve replacement patients. Concomitant procedures included coronary artery bypass grafting in 135 patients (39.6%) and tricuspid valve surgery in 50 patients (14.7%). Thirty‐day mortality was 5.4% (MV‐repair) versus 9.2% (mitral valve replacement, P=0.26). Overall 1‐ and 5‐year survival was 90.7%, 74.2% versus 81.3%, 61.0% (P<0.01). Median survival after MV‐repair was 7.8 years, close to 8.5 years (95% CI: 8.2–9.4) in the age‐matched UK population (ratio 0.9). Rate of re‐operation for MV‐dysfunction was 2.3% versus 2.5% (mitral valve replacement, P=1.0). After propensity matching, patients after MV‐repair still had improved survival at 1, 2, and 5 years (93.4%, 91.6%, 76.9% versus 77.2%, 75.2%, 58.7%, P=0.03).

Conclusions

Excellent outcomes can be achieved after MV surgery in elderly patients. Long‐term survival is superior after MV‐repair and the re‐operation rate is low. MV‐repair should be the preferred surgical approach in elderly patients.