The Effect of Posterior Annulus Elevation Technique in Reducing Residual Regurgitation During Mitral Valve Repair in Children

The main problem in mitral valve repair surgery in children is the high number of postoperative residual lesions (49% of the total cases). Residual lesions after mitral valve repair are associated with morbidity and complications in the form of hemolysis and could affect the postoperative reverse remodeling process. Surgery techniques for mitral valve repair in children have fewer choices than adult patients because of the smaller and thinner valve structure. Besides, the weakness of the mitral valve repair technique that often occurs in large left ventricles with severe mitral regurgitation, after repairing with ring annuloplasty, there is usually a mild residual regurgitation due to posterior mitral leaflet that tends to become restrictive due to being attracted by the left ventricular wall that remains big. No technique has been found to overcome the problem of mitral regurgitation residuals that occur postoperatively.

Therefore, by analyzing postoperative mitral valve structural abnormalities with conventional techniques, an additional posterior mitral valve elevation technique was designed. The posterior annulus elevation technique is a technique that is carried by lifting the posterior mitral annulus towards the cranial so that the posterior mitral leaflet can meet perfectly with the anterior mitral leaflet indicated by a larger coaptation area. This technique can be applied after repair with conventional techniques done optimally to reduce the possibility of postoperative residual lesions.

The hypothesis in this study is that pediatric patients with mitral regurgitation who undergo mitral valve repair surgery with posterior annulus elevation techniques can reduce residual mitral regurgitation, improve clinical and metabolic outcomes of postoperative heart failure, and reduce the risk of postoperative hemolysis.