LONG-TERM RESULTS OF POLYTETRAFLUOROETHYLENE MITRAL ANNULOPLASTY

Prosthetic rings are customarily used for mitral annuloplasty to plica te and reinforce the annulus and keep the annulus from further dilatin g. From July 1984 to March 1992, mitral annular plication using polyte trafluoroethylene (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 deg enerative in 36.9% of the patients. After other repair procedures on t he 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 th en inserted at the posterior part of the mitral annulus between the co mmissures. The operative mortality was 2.7%. Follow-up ranged from 0.7 to 8.5 years (mean, 5.6 years). Postoperative echocardiography confir med that 94.2% of the survivors had either no or only mild mitral regu rgitation with a large mitral valve area (2.7 +/- 0.3 cm(2)) and almos t no pressure gradient across the mitral valve or left ventricular out flow tract. Two patients successfully underwent redo PTFE mitral annul oplasty. Two patients died, one 15 and the other 20 months later, due to myocardial failure, with no mitral regurgitation. The event-free su rvival rate was 90% +/- 4% at 8 years. We conclude that PTFE mitral an nuloplasty is an effective procedure that yields good long-term result s.