Artificial chordae in the treatment of anterior mitral leaflet pathology

This report describes the authors' clinical experience with expanded polytetrafluorethylene (e-PTFE) sutures to replace the anterior mitral leaflet chordae for valve repair. Between November 1986 and July 1995, 203 patients underwent operations with e-PTFE chordae insertion. Among these, 122 had artificial chordae utilized for anterior mitral leaflet repair. Four patients had the valve replaced during the same operation because of an unsatisfactory result. One patient died from respiratory insufficiency 16 days after operation. Transoesophageal echocardiography at discharge from hospital showed no evidence of regurgitation in 81 cases, and trivial regurgitation in 36. During a mean follow-up of 36.6 (range 1-106) months two other patients died from causes unrelated to the valve repair, while one patient had a transient ischaemic attack returning to sinus rhythm. Two patients were reoperated on 12 and 18 months respectively after their initial operation for progression of valvular degeneration causing natural chordae rupture. Among the remaining 113 patients, 111 are in New York Heart Association functional class I and yearly transoesophageal echocardiography has shown absent or trivial regurgitation. The utilization of e-PTFE as artificial chordae for anterior mitral leaflet pathology is a safe and reliable procedure, yielding excellent results and increasing the number of candidates for valve repair.