MITRAL-VALVE REPAIR IN A PATIENT WITH SEVERE PORCELAIN AORTA

We repaired the mitral valve in a patient with severe porcelain aorta. Significant mitral regurgitation developed in a 66-year-old woman wit h heavy calcification throughout the whole aorta. At operation, cardio pulmonary bypass was properly established by combined axillary and fem oral arterial cannulations for sufficient systemic flow. Likewise, the combination of a superior mitral approach and profound hypothermic fi brillatory arrest in conjunction with low-flow cardiopulmonary bypass allowed us to repair the mitral valve successfully. (C) 1997 by The So ciety of Thoracic Surgeons.