Key result
Mitral valve repair for rheumatic pathology has become less common in developed countries due to the decline of rheumatic disease, leading to a loss of surgical expertise for this specific condition.
This commentary highlights the historical context of rheumatic mitral valve repair and the modern challenge of lost surgical expertise for this pathology in developed countries.
Mitral valve repair was initially thought for and applied to the rheumatic pathology. The first large reports included a majority of patients with this pathology. Subsequently, the method was extended to degenerative valves and, when results were compared, the rheumatic series came second. With the improved sanitary conditions in the developed countries, in the second half of the 20th century, rheumatic disease gradually disappeared in these countries and rapidly became a nonproblem. Surgeons forgot or never learned how to do it and the rare, chronic, distorted, calcified valve in patients in their fifties is usually replaced.
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Manuel J. Antunes (2020) conducted an editorial in Rheumatic mitral valve disease. Mitral valve repair was evaluated. Mitral valve repair for rheumatic pathology has become less common in developed countries due to the decline of rheumatic disease, leading to a loss of surgical expertise for this specific condition.
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