Mitral annuloplasty in dilated cardiomyopathy: eighteen-year follow up in a pediatric case.

Dilated cardiomyopathy is often complicated by severe mitral regurgitation (MR) caused by dilation of the annulus. Heart transplantation remains the ultimate treatment when heart failure fails to respond to medical treatment. Mitral annuloplasty for severe MR in dilated or ischemic cardiomyopathy may delay or replace the need for heart transplantation. The case is reported of a six-year-old child with dilated cardiomyopathy, severe MR and high pulmonary arterial pressure. Following beneficial mitral annuloplasty in 1989, the patient is in excellent functional condition eighteen years later.