Mitral valve annuloplasty with a semirigid annuloplasty band in ischemic mitral regurgitation: early results

OBJECTIVE: A trigone-to-trigone semirigid annuloplasty band (C-G Future Band, Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) was introduced in 2001 for mitral valve repair. We report our early clinical and echocardiographic results with this new device to correct ischemic mitral regurgitation. METHODS: Between January 2002 and December 2004, among 216 patients operated on for mitral regurgitation, 107 patients had a C-G Future Band annuloplasty and 85 consecutive patients (72.6% male; mean age 66.9 +/- 8.6 years) received this annuloplasty band to correct ischemic mitral regurgitation. Mean follow-up was 14.3 +/- 9.8 months (range 0.2-37 months). Clinical and echocardiographic assessment was accomplished preoperatively, postoperatively, at 6 and 12 months, and at two years. RESULTS: Perioperative mortality was 3.7% (three in-hospital deaths), whereas overall survival at two years was 88.7 +/- 4.2%. Immediately after repair, echocardiographic mitral regurgitation was dramatically reduced (2.5 +/- 0.6 vs. 0.9 +/- 0.6; P < 0.0001); ejection fraction increased from 43.8 +/- 11% preoperatively to 44.8 +/- 12% postoperatively (P = 0.007). At the time of follow-up, New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class was significantly improved (mean preoperative NYHA class 2.04 +/- 0.9 vs. mean postoperative NYHA class 1.25 +/- 0.6; P < 0.0001). No patient experienced thromboembolic events and no late mitral valve reoperation occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Early and mid-term mitral valve function is satisfactory with trigone-to-trigone semirigid band annuloplasty, with excellent repair durability immediately after the operation and at two years. Moreover, after annuloplasty repair, an improvement in clinical functional status is obtained. A wider use of this semirigid annuloplasty band can be recommended.