Repair of congenital malformations of the mitral valve in children: early and long-term results in 34 cases.

From March 1972 through December 1986, 34 children underwent surgical treatment of mitral valve dysplasia at our institution. There were 14 males and 20 females, with a mean age of 6 years (range, 5 months to 15 years). Eighteen patients had significant mitral valve insufficiency; 16 had significant mitral valve stenosis. Mitral valve reconstruction was possible in 30 patients (88.2%); replacement of the mitral valve with a mechanical prosthesis was necessary in the other 4 patients (11.8%), after at least 1 attempted reconstruction. Five patients died in the hospital (14.7%): 4 after conservative surgery, and 1 after mitral valve replacement. A 6th patient died 26 months after mitral valve replacement and resection of a subaortic membrane. Four patients required reoperation 2 to 66 months after conservative treatment: in 3 of these, the mitral valve was replaced; in the 4th, additional reconstruction was successful. Upon follow-up (range, 3 months to 14 years after surgery), 26 of the 28 surviving patients were asymptomatic; 2-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography performed in 22 patients after mitral valve repair showed normal pulmonary artery pressure in all, and moderate mitral valve dysfunction in 2. Our results indicate that reconstructive surgery for mitral valve dysplasia may prove effective and reliable in children, despite the frequent severity of valve malformation. We believe, therefore, that mitral valve repair should always be attempted in the pediatric population to avoid the disadvantages of prosthetic valve replacement.