ABSTRACT
Mitral valve repair, particularly in the last decade, has become the ‘gold standard’ for the treatment of mitral valve disease. The advantages as compared to standard prosthetic replacement have been well documented. However, even with the continuing improvements and advancements in mitral repair techniques, a certain subset of patients remain whose valvular lesions present tissue which is unsuitable for repair. The number of patients in this category is significant enough that investigators continue to focus on alternatives that would alleviate the necessity for standard prosthetic replacement. Such alternatives have included the use of autologous pericardium to fashion a bicuspid valve,1,2 the Quadrileaflet pericardial valve3 the use of porcine mitral heterografts,4-7 or the use of full8-14 or partial15-17 mitral homografts.
