innovative surgical technique for continuous suturing of prosthesis in mitral valve replacement

Mitral valve replacement [MVR] is usually performed in two methods of running and interrupted suturing. In running method, the suturing of the valve is usually with some traction on the annulus and also there is a risk of aortic valve injury. This study was conducted to evaluate a new technique for suturing to avoid these complications and decrease the time of cardiac arrest. One hundred and seventy-seven cases undergoing isolated MVR or MVR with other valve replacements were operated by the new method and compared with 77 cases of routine method, as control group. The patients were followed up 1-4 years. In the control group, one case of mortality occurred due to heart failure. In both groups one case of late mortality was observed not related to surgical operation. No paravalvular leakage or aortic valve injury was observed. The highlights of this technique are the simplicity of operation, short period of valve implantation and aortic clamp time, which indicated 6 and 11 minutes decrease in average time, respectively. This method is recommended for all cases of rheumatic mitral valve disease, especially for those having a small atrium