Mitral valve prolapse with rigid annular calcification: a new technique for mitral valve replacement.

Severe calcification of the mitral annulus presents a technical challenge in valve replacement, and in the case reported here, we replaced the valve with a new technique. Employing a rim of tissue created from the supra-annular left atrium imbricated to the edge of the posterior mitral leaflet, we created a substitute "annulus" for prosthetic valve fixation.