Mitral valve repair after papillary muscle rupture through beating heart adjustment of artificial chordae length

Acute papillary muscle rupture results in severe mitral regurgitation and hemodynamic instability, and it carries a poor prognosis with a high mortality rate. We present a case of an 86-year-old woman affected by mitral regurgitation due to an acute posterior papillary muscle rupture. The patient underwent a mitral valve repair with annuloplasty and artificial chordae implantation. The neochorda was sutured to the posterior mitral leaflet and fixed through the left ventricle wall on the epicardium. The neochorda length was determined on the beating heart under echocardiographic view. (Ann Thorac Surg 2010;90:e32-3) (C) 2010 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons