Conclusion: surgeons often attempt to repair mitral valves in lieu of replacing them due to improved long term clinical outcomes.There are times when a valve repair is attempted using an annuloplasty device and subsequent post repair evaluation demonstrates inadequate results.This is often due to suboptimal anatomy, surgical technique, or inappropriate sizing, and not a malfunction of the device (1).In this case, medtronic received information that during the implant of this 36mm annuloplasty ring, the physician noted that there was continued mitral regurgitation from the patients native tissue.The physician then explanted the 36mm ring and replaced it with a 31mm bioprosthetic mitral valve.The event appears to be sizing related.(1) mick et al, ann cardiothorac surg 2015; 4(3):230-237.
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