Mitral valve repair for mitral regugitation in the elderly: Yes, we have to, but look at the etiologies!

Antonio M. Calafiore*, Massimo Di Marco, Stefano Guarracini, Kostas Katsavrias, Michele Di Mauro

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalEditorialAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The meta-analysis by Di Tommaso et al. demonstrated as elderly patients with mitral regurgitation (MR) undergoing mitral valve repair had lower short-term mortality and higher long-term survival with respect to patients undergoing mitral valve replacement. The benefit of repair is such, that initial surgical strategy is advisable in the elderly even in case of mild symptoms if compared with conservative management. However, even if repair can be performed in presence of some specific etiologies, as degenerative MR or secondary MR, there are always cases where a replacement can be an acceptable solution compared to a repair with uncertain future, regardless of our believes and our technical ability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2531-2532
Number of pages2
JournalJournal of Cardiac Surgery
Volume36
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2021

Keywords

  • elderly
  • mitral valve repair
  • mitral valve replacement
  • valve repair/replacement
  • SURGERY
  • REGURGITATION

Cite this