A revised terminology for recording surgical findings of the mitral valve.

The existing terminology for the various structures of the mitral valve are diverse and numerous. With the resurgence of interest in reparative procedures for mitral valve disease, it becomes imperative to have a unified terminology which would convey precise connotations in recording the pathology as well as the corrective procedures applied. In an effort to suggest a commonly acceptable nomenclature, we reviewed the available terminology and propose a simple system which will fulfil the needs of recording the intraoperative observations of the pathology of each valve and the manouveres carried out to correct them by the surgeon. This involves designating all structures anterior to the intercommissural line as "anterior" or "A" and those posterior as "posterior" or "P". The structures, as observed by the surgeon through a standard left atriotomy, to the left of the line dropped perpendicular to the middle of the aortic curtain will be designated by the numeral "1" and those to the right "2". The chords will be termed in groups based on their point of insertion, irrespective of whether they are inserted to the free edge or the ventricular surface of the leaflet. The anterior leaflet chords will further be subdivided based on their relation to the stay chords. We hope that this system of naming the structures would provide a unified method of reporting intraoperative findings of mitral valve disease.