Simple, Safe and Easy Technique to Ensure the Correct Length of Artificial Chordae in Mitral Valve Repair Khalil Fattouch, MD, PhD, Giuseppe Bianco, MD, PhD, Fabrizio Sbraga, MD, Roberta Sampognaro, MD, Giovanni Ruvolo, MD The Annals of Thoracic Surgery Volume 83, Issue 5, Pages 1902-1903 (May 2007) DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2006.06.012 Copyright © 2007 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions
Fig 1 (Step 1a) Placement of the Gore-Tex sutures (W. L. Gore & Assoc, Flagstaff, AZ) in the papillary muscle head is easy to perform before annuloplasty remodelling. (Step 1b) Identification of one or more scallops prolapse and placement of the free arms of the Gore-Tex sutures through the free edge of the prolapsed scallops. (Step 2) An edge-to-edge repair is performed to achieve a good leaflet apposition with valve competency tested with water. (Step 3a) Remodelling annuloplasty with an appropriate ring. (Step 3b) The Gore-Tex sutures were tied permanently, after ring implantation, under testing valve competency by injecting water into the left ventricle. (Step 4a) The edge-to-edge suture was cut and removed. (Step 4b) Replacement of the free arms of the Gore-Tex sutures through the free margin from atrial to ventricular side and finally tied and cut. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 2007 83, 1902-1903DOI: (10.1016/j.athoracsur.2006.06.012) Copyright © 2007 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions