Totally endoscopic mitral valve repair and papillary muscle ablation for arrhythmic mitral regurgitation.

BACKGROUND

Arrhythmic mitral regurgitation (MR), characterized by mitral valve prolapse accompanied by ventricular arrhythmias, poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Treatment decisions, including the necessity for concomitant surgical ablation and the identification of specific ablation points, are highly case-specific and lack a consensus approach. Once determined, high-definition endoscopes and adaptable cryoablation tools facilitate simultaneous mitral valve repair and targeted surgical ablation via a minimally invasive approach, ensuring optimal visualization.

CASE PRESENTATION

The patient was a 49-year-old female with an episode of ventricular fibrillation. Severe MR was diagnosed at that time; however, surgery was not selected due to the absence of symptoms and left ventricular dysfunction. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator was subsequently placed, which activated twice. Over the last 6 months, she developed dyspnea and was referred to us, where she was diagnosed with symptomatic arrhythmic MR. Subsequently, she underwent totally endoscopic minimally invasive mitral valve repair and papillary muscle cryoablation. Postoperative echocardiography showed trivial MR, with a mean pressure gradient of 1 mmHg, and an ejection fraction of 56%. She was discharged home on the fifth postoperative day. The Holter electrocardiogram performed 6 months after surgery showed no ventricular arrhythmias originating from the papillary muscles.

CONCLUSIONS

We successfully diagnosed and treated a patient with symptomatic arrhythmic MR. Simultaneous mitral valve repair and papillary muscle cryoablation, performed through a totally endoscopic minimally invasive approach, was found to be effective in managing this complex condition.