Letter to the Editor
Successful mitral valve repair for severe mitral regurgitation caused by isolated cleft of the posterior leaflet

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2009.09.525Get rights and content

Abstract

Cleft of the post mitral valve leaflet is extremely rare congenital cause of mitral regurgitation. Only six cases have being reported in literature. We report the case of a 34-year-old man with isolated cleft in the posterior mitral valve leaflet causing severe mitral regurgitation. The patient had been experiencing limitation of his exercise capacity becoming more easily tried. Therefore, he was referred for mitral valve surgery. The posterior mitral valve leaflet was successfully repaired using quadrangular resection technique. Intra-operative transesophageal echocardiography showed trivial mitral regurgitation after repair. Satisfactory clinical results were achieved at 2 years post-operatively.

Section snippets

Case report

A 34-year-old man with severe mitral regurgitation was referred to our institution for mitral valve surgery. He had been experiencing limitation of his exercise capacity becoming more easily tried. Medical history was notable for chronic hepatitis B infection. He was of athletic build. There were no signs of chronic liver disease. His pulse was regular, 72 beats per minute. The jugular venous pressure was within the normal range. Auscultation revealed a grade 5/6 pan systolic murmur maximum at

Discussion

Cleft of the posterior mitral valve leaflet is an extremely rare congenital cardiovascular malformation. Only six cases have being reported in literature [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]. Isolated cleft posterior mitral valve leaflet were observed in 3 cases [1], [2], [3]. Associated anomalies include counterclockwise papillary muscles[4] or an accessory mitral valve tissue[5]. Cleft is a slit-like defect which can be clearly imaged by the two-dimensional echocardiography. Mechanism for the

Acknowledgement

The authors of this manuscript have certified that they comply with the Principles of Ethical Publishing in the International Journal of Cardiology [7].

References (7)

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    Isolated clefting of the mural leaflet of the otherwise normal mitral valve is an extremely rare but long-reported congenital heart condition.20,27 Only few cases are reported in the literature.7–22 The cleft is usually oriented away from the LVOT, which is similar to the situation in the patients with AVSD, where the so-called cleft is the zone of apposition located between the superior and the inferior bridging leaflets.28

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