A new simplified technique for artificial chordae implantation in mitral valve repair with its early results

Mitral valve repair (MVR) is considered the procedure of choice for correcting mitral regurgitation (MR) in degenerative MV disease (1), providing long-term results that are superior to those with valve replacement (2). The use of artificial chordae to replace elongated or ruptured chordae causing leaflet prolapse and MR has been the subject of extensive work to define feasibility, reproducibility and effectiveness of this procedure. Artificial chordae made of autologous or xenograft pericardium has been replaced by chordae manufactured of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (W.L. Gore & Association, Inc., Flagstaff, USA), a material with the unique property of becoming covered by host fibrosa and endothelium. The use of artificial chordae made of PTFE has been validated clinically over the past two decades and has been an increasing component of the surgical armamentarium for MVR. A variety of reliable techniques are now available for management of chordae pathologies to repair mitral valve. Therefore, we aimed in this study is to present our simplified technique in using PTFE chordae to correct the prolapsed MV and reporting our short-term results of this technique