LONG-TERM RESULTS OF POLYTETRAFLUOROETHYLENE MITRAL ANNULOPLASTY

Prosthetic rings are customarily used for mitral annuloplasty to plicate and reinforce the annulus and keep the annulus from further dilating. From July 1984 to March 1992, mitral annular plication using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft material was performed on 73 patients (age range, 15 to 69 years; mean, 35.7 years) with mitral regurgitation. The cause of the mitral regurgitation was rheumatic in 50.7% and degenerative in 36.9% of the patients. After other repair procedures on the mitral valve apparatus had been performed, a PTFE graft (3 mm) was tailored to the length of the free edge of the anterior leaflet and then inserted at the posterior part of the mitral annulus between the commissures. The operative mortality was 2.7%. Follow-up ranged from 0.7 to 8.5 years (mean, 5.6 years). Postoperative echocardiography confirmed that 94.2% of the survivors had either no or only mild mitral regurgitation with a large mitral valve area (2.7 +/- 0.3 cm(2)) and almost no pressure gradient across the mitral valve or left ventricular outflow tract. Two patients successfully underwent redo PTFE mitral annuloplasty. Two patients died, one 15 and the other 20 months later, due to myocardial failure, with no mitral regurgitation. The event-free survival rate was 90% +/- 4% at 8 years. We conclude that PTFE mitral annuloplasty is an effective procedure that yields good long-term results.