A newly designed adapter for testing an ex vivo mitral valve apparatus.

Few instruments are currently available to test mitral valve function in an ex vivo state due to the technical difficulties involved. To investigate the native ex vivo mitral valve or prosthetic mitral valve with chordae, we developed a mitral valve adapter with an annulus suturing portion and 2 papillary muscle suturing sites that can be changed in angle, direction, and length of chordae. We used this adapter to test an ex vivo mitral apparatus in beagle dogs and evaluated the morphology and function of the mitral apparatus by endoscopy. Our newly designed mitral valve adapter proved extremely useful for examining the ex vivo mitral valve anatomy and function and for testing stentless mitral prostheses with annular-papillary muscle continuity.