Chordal replacement for both minimally invasive and conventional mitral valve surgery using premeasured Gore-Tex loops

Part of the complexity of mitral valve chordal replacement with expanded po lytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) sutures is determining the correct replacemen t chordal length and knotting the ePTFE suture without sliding the knot. We describe a technique of measuring the required chordal length and making a "premeasured" Gore-Tex chordal loop that abolishes problems of inadvertent ly altering chordal length during fixation. This improves the reproducibili ty of chordal replacement surgery, and can be used both via conventional an d minimally invasive approaches. (Ann Thorac Surg 2000;70:2166-8) (C) 2000 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.