The transseptal T-cut--what more can we see?

An optimal approach to the mitral valve for repair or replacement must provide adequate exposure even in a small left atrial and redo cases, without need for forceful retraction. This benefit of good exposure must not be at the cost of increased morbidity from increased postoperative bleeding, SA node, or atrioventricular node dysfunction. We describe a simple technique of transseptal T-cut for exposure of the mitral valve, which is without the attendant complications of the other techniques.